Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

Melbourne, a city that has been my home for thirty years, had protests. This is nothing new in the world’s once ‘most liveable city,’ now rated Number Eight. Sometimes Melbourne can host rowdy, even violent protests. Wasn’t it the city that tried to tear down Oral Robert’s gospel tent in 1961? Mobbed British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Burke Street Mall in 1988? Returned the compliment to then US President George HW Bush in 1992? This time, the protestors made their views known about abortion - in the United States. They were protesting the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 US Supreme Court decision that mandated all fifty American states must provide abortion services, at least in the first trimester. The 24 June 2022 five to four ruling reversed Roe and returned the matter of abortion to the individual states to decide on their own. California and New York will continue to be major abortion states. Other states will restrict. Not just the Melbourne protestors were indignan...

  For some, it was like the dawning of a new day. For others, it was the end of the world. Both sides, looking at opposite ends of the telescope, are focused on a decision that will greatly alter the culture war, like the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) decision of 1973 which started it in the first place. We’re talking about the potential overturning of the landmark decision called Roe v. Wade, which mandated abortion in all fifty American states, even if a state was predominantly pro-life. Justice Samuel Alito’s draft decision on Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Mississippi), which was leaked to the press, has caused ripples nationally and internationally. Consider the following: The pro-abortion lobby has vehemently protested, including in front of the homes of the justices - which is illegal, because it is ‘obstruction of justice.’ Some have interrupted church services, like at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, where protestors stripped off their c...

As soon as the word was out, three metre high fencing was erected around the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) building. Church services were disrupted by protesters, pro-lifers and there facilities attacked. On cue, Democratic politicians lined up to denounce the news, some with great fanfare, anger and militancy. On top of it all, angry protesters stood outside the private homes of SCOTUS justices, which, according to former Attorney- General William Barr, is a crime (18 US Code Section 1507). And the reaction was not limited to the United States - there was signage in Brisbane, Australia, about a meeting to ‘save Roe. ’ What is the cause of all this turmoil? In an unprecedented move, an anonymous clerk at SCOTUS leaked a draft major opinion on the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organisation (Mississippi) abortion case. In this draft a majority of five justices agreed, in principle, to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade SCOTUS decision. With the possible demise of Roe, the American l...

The Bible and the Foetus  In the series about Issues Facing the Church, I have elaborated a blog sent to my progressivist American niece, who asked for my position on abortion. For a Christian the Bible should be the first place to look for answers to life’s questions. If the Bible is the Word of God - and it is - and if we will be held accountable for what it says - and we will - then these passages regarding life need to be taken at face value Is the Bible really silent on the personhood of the foetus or on when the spirit enters the unborn, as one famous politician claimed? My position : as a born-again Christian and ordained minister, I take an predictably pro-life position. I have no other choice: my understanding of Scripture compels me. •   Jeremiah 1:5 - God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah : Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.’ •   Psalm 139:13-16: There are some incredible statements in this passage. Apparently, the detailed mappin...

We are speaking about issues that people are talking about and need to be addressed by the Church. Here we continue our comments on abortion, a blog written in response to a question asked by this author’s millennial niece: What do you think about abortion, and you can say whatever you want?! Today’s Scene : Apparently, many millennials are more pro-life than their baby-boomer parents. The annual rate of abortion in the United States has been declining in recent years (see table below). Why are abortions declining? The theories include increased availability of the morning-after pill, better education and understanding of contraceptives, and a declining birth rate. It can also be because of the pro-life movement, who provide education and support of expectant mothers. An interesting fact is that abortion clinics are closing across the United States. In 2017, there were 780 abortion clinics nationally. As of 2019, that number reduced to 755. Why the reduction? Finances is...