Boy Scouts Ignore Two-Thirds of Membership by Lifting Ban on Homosexuals

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PHILADELPHIA – By now, it is common knowledge that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has changed their policy and lifted a ban and now accepts homosexual boys as members into their organization. Many believe that the BSA capitulated to strong-arm tactics from special-interest groups by changing its policy to allow boys who claim to be gay to be included in their ranks. According to the BSA’s own survey, 61 percent of its members were in opposition to changing the policy yet the delegates ignored the members and were pressured by the national BSA leadership to vote against upholding the longstanding BSA policy.

The Pennsylvania Pastor’s Network (PPN, www.papastors.net) has condemned this decision as irresponsible and damaging to the innocence of youth and the Scout’s long-standing tradition of teaching boys to embrace the principles of God, Country, Flag, and Morality. Boys, instead of being offered a view of morality consistent with a biblical worldview that honors marriage and masculinity, will now be exposed to an opposing view of morality and masculinity. In addition, it will introduce innocent young boys to possible sexual experimentation by other boys who are openly confused and struggling with cultural messages regarding their sexual identity. Parents who would never dream of forcing young boys and girls to share a tent together, will now be forced to allow boys with sexual attractions to other boys to share sleeping accommodations, as well as locker rooms and other close quarters.

Although deeply disappointed by the Scouts decision, Sam Rohrer, president of PPN, is not surprised. In a recent survey conducted for PPN, one out of five evangelical pastors said they would not teach a biblical view of morality in their churches, even where it concerned issues of sexuality.

Rohrer states, “We’ve seen the leadership of the Boy Scouts of American crumble under pressure from homosexual activist groups and we know this because the BSA leadership just a couple of years ago was adamant that they would not allow homosexual members or leaders into the organization. The integrity and moral compass of our nation is quickly going haywire and the Church is partially at fault. When the people, and especially those in the pulpit, don’t believe God’s Word is authoritative, and replace God with themselves or look to culture to give guidance to moral directives, a nation can only decline and its people will suffer.”

Rohrer continues, “God’s Word is the only source for truth and confidence. God’s Word is absolute and unchanging. It is pastors who have the direct command to preach the Word and teach a purely biblical worldview. Our nation is in need of rescue and 20 percent of our pastors are falling short of the call and responsibility placed on their lives. It is impossible for those in positions of leadership to lead on matters of life and living when they themselves are not confident that God’s Word provides all the answers to all life’s questions.”

As a result of this policy change of the Boy Scouts, boys will be taught that there is no absolute when it comes to masculine identity. Instead of being encouraged to embrace the time-honored principles of strength, leadership, protector, and provider, boys will instead be confronted with a message that abandons traditional moral norms.

The PA Pastors’ Network urges Christian parents to prayerfully consider pulling their boys out of the Boy Scouts of America. Many leaders and organizations around the country have already begun to investigate the possibility of starting a new organization, where parents can continue to teach character among boys that is consistent with a more Christian biblical worldview, and that also respects the right of parents to direct discussions of sexuality with their sons. Many parents have expressed that they don’t want sexuality taught to their sons by the Boy Scouts of America

The Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network is a group of Biblically faithful clergy and church liaisons whose objective is to build a permanent infrastructure of like-minded clergy who affirm the authority of Scripture, take seriously Jesus’ command to be the “salt and light” to the culture, encourage informed Christian thinking about contemporary social issues; examine public policy issues without politicizing their pulpits and engage their congregations in taking part in our political process on a non-partisan basis.

The Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network website continues to offer a wealth of resources to pastors to help them equip their congregations to live a Christian life, from sermon notes to corporate prayers for our nation, to resources for laypeople, covering everything from preparation to finances.
The Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network is a part of Let Freedom Ring, Inc., a 501c(4) non-profit organization. To contact them visit. www.papastors.net or call 610-793-1800.

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To schedule interviews with Sam Rohrer, President of the Pa. Pastors’ Network, contact Deborah Hamilton at dhamilton@hamiltonstrategies.com, 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096.

Throughout his nine terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, on finance and economic issues, Sam Rohrer served as a 14-year member of the Appropriations Committee. He served on the Speaker’s Commission on Government Reform, was Republican chairman of the House Finance Committee, he argued for strong structural limits on state government taxes and spending, and for true public pension reform, led the statewide efforts for positive changes in the Pennsylvania home school law. Sam authored the historic Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) scholarship. Sam was the Republican chairman of the Game and Fisheries Committee and he also served as Chairman of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee.

In November of 2009 Sam formally entered the race for Governor of Pennsylvania as the conservative Republican candidate. From February to November of 2011, Sam Rohrer served as State Director for Americans for Prosperity, the largest grassroots organization in the country dedicated to defending individual freedom and liberty.

Sam and his wife Ruth Ann live in Berks County and are the parents of six children and six grandchildren. The Rohrer family considers their commitment to faith and family one of their highest priorities.

Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network Urges Pastors to Connect Biblical Principles to Moral and Cultural Issues

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PHILADELPHIA – In a recent survey commissioned by the Pennsylvania Pastor’s Network (PPN, www.papastors.net), only 78% of self-identified evangelical pastors agreed that the Bible is a reliable source of absolute truth. 21% of pastors admitted they either may not or definitely would not teach that life is a sacred gift from God.

Sam Rohrer, President of PPN, states, “As our nation turns our back on God and His Word we will not only lose our civil and religious freedoms but we will receive the judgment of God. The Lord warned His people clearly in Deuteronomy 8 that if we forget that our blessings come from Him and think that we got them by ourselves, we will end up losing all we have. The time for Christians to repent of self-dependency and return to the Lord in obedience is now. The time for pastors in the pulpit to lead the way by teaching and preaching biblical principles as the solution to our problems is now. The time to address the moral and cultural issues of our day with Truth and boldness is now.”

Rohrer’s view is not new; famed historian Alexis de Toqueville in the early 1800’s had issued a similar viewpoint when he stated “Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.” George Washington, often referred to as the “Father of our Country,” has often been quoted as saying “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports…. And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.” History is replete with great thinkers, philosophers, and leaders who recognized that there is a natural law which governs the entire universe, including the affairs of men, and that when men/women decide to abandon the principles of that Natural Law, societal decay is inevitable.

The PA Pastors’ Network is urging churches around the state to commit to preaching on the first Sunday of every month on a topic of cultural or moral relevance, using the Bible as the foundation of all truth. The hope is that by providing Christians with increased teaching about what the Bible says about moral issues, Christians will live out their faith with greater diligence and consistency in all aspects of life.

As part of their commitment to support pastors in preaching boldly from a Biblical worldview, PPN offers sermon notes on a variety of cultural topics, like same-sex marriage, family, and abortion, among others. The PA Pastors’ Network also offers bulletin inserts. To request any of these resources in advance of the next Pulpit Sunday, pastors or lay people can contact the Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network at http://www.papastors.net/contact. Pastors who want to participate in the next Pulpit Sunday can get more details on the organization’s website at http://www.papastors.net.

The Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network is a group of biblically faithful clergy and church liaisons whose objective is to build a permanent infrastructure of like-minded clergy who affirm the authority of Scripture, take seriously Jesus’ command to be the “salt and light” to the culture, encourage informed Christian thinking about contemporary social issues; examine public policy issues without politicizing their pulpits and engage their congregations in taking part in our political process on a non-partisan basis.

The Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network website continues to offer a wealth of resources to pastors to help them equip their congregations to live a Christian life, from sermon notes to corporate prayers for our nation, to resources for laypeople, covering everything from preparation to finances.

The Pennsylvania Pastors’ Network is a part of Let Freedom Ring, Inc., a 501c(4) non-profit organization. To contact them visit. www.papastors.net or call 610-793-1800.

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To schedule interviews with Sam Rohrer, President of the PA Pastors’ Network, contact Deborah Hamilton at dhamilton@hamiltonstrategies.com, 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096.

Guilty: Abortionist Gosnell Convicted of First-Degree Murder of 3 Babies

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Late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of first-degree murder for killing three babies born alive after abortions by severing their spinal cords with scissors, and he now faces the death penalty.

After 10 days of deliberation in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, a jury today found Gosnell guilty of three of the four murder charges for babies in the case, including “Baby C,” which was “moving and breathing for 20 minutes” before its neck was snipped, and “Baby D,” which was born alive in a toilet, “swimming,” trying to get out.

The jury, which according to local reports was made up of nine “pro-choice” individuals, did not convict Gosnell of third-degree murder for the overdose death of Karnamaya Mongar, who died at Gosnell’s clinic the Women’s Medical Society in West Philadelphia when seeking a late-term abortion. Gosnell instead was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in that instance.

For the 24 counts of performing abortions after 24 weeks, the jury found Gosnell guilty on 21. Gosnell was also convicted of numerous conspiracy charges and infanticide.

The guilty verdict on Monday ended the lengthy trial that began on March 18, which included five weeks of testimony from 54 witnesses. Gosnell did not take the stand during the trial, with defense lawyer Jack McMahon resting his case without calling any witnesses.

“Obviously the jury has spoken,” McMahon said outside the court following the verdict. “A jury has spoken and we respect that verdict.”

McMahon said Gosnell’s state of mind was “disappointed and he’s upset.”

“[Gosnell] showed me a little bit of something before the verdict even came in, he thanked me very much for my effort, which to me says a lot about it before any verdict occurs, and I respected that out of him,” McMahon said.
Grand Jury Report, Abortionist: ‘This Baby Is Big Enough to Walk Around With Me or Walk Me to the Bus Stop’

Baby girl aborted at office of Dr. Kermit Gosnell in West Philadelphia, Pa. (Photo: Grand Jury Report, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.)

“His state of mind is—as any intelligent human being would be at this point in time—is he’s disappointed and he’s upset,” he said of Gosnell. “I mean, we aired out our position on this over a long trial, we had a fair trial, we got to put out our position, and the jury spoke, and to me, that’s what our system is all about.”

When asked if he regrets not calling Gosnell to testify, or any witnesses in defense, McMahon said, “No.”

“We started this case with eight murders, there were seven murders and Ms. Mongar was a not guilty of murder, and then there was four other not guilty of murders, but there was three that were, so we have to deal with that.”

Originally, Gosnell was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder of babies, but Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Jeffrey P. Minehart threw out three of the counts during judgment of acquittal, apparently concluding the prosecution failed to put forth enough evidence that the babies in those cases were born alive.

The jury will now move on to sentencing, and will have to be unanimous in order to sentence Gosnell to death. They will reconvene on May 21.
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Fetal remains in a freezer in the Women’s Medical Society abortion clinic run by Dr. Kermit Gosnell. (Grand Jury Report.)

Prosecutor Joanne Pescatore was reportedly in tears when the verdict was read, ending a years’ long process since Gosnell’s clinic was raided in February 2010.

The jury did not find Gosnell guilty of murder in the case of “Baby E,” which witnesses testified they heard crying before Gosnell killed it with scissors, according to the grand jury report.

Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group Live Action, said “justice has been served.”

“Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s gruesome and inhuman crimes in Philadelphia cried out for justice, and now – for three of his four born and struggling victims, at least – justice has been served,” Rose said. “Even as we celebrate this verdict, we honor and mourn as well those innocents who did not receive ‘their day in court’ – and we must remember that Gosnell is not an outlier within the abortion industry.”

“We call upon Congress to investigate all those participating in or willing to participate in this kind of brutality toward vulnerable women and children, and end it,” she said.