IT’S almost time for the last supper. Though not quite. Another 24 hours will have to pass before the concluding morsel is munched, the final nibble on the edge of no more. After that, a little part of Scotland’s living history will die.

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s recent remarks on his willingness to work with segregationists resurrected his long-ago efforts to oppose school busing. Will it hurt his campaign?

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s recent remarks on his willingness to work with segregationists resurrected his long-ago efforts to oppose school busing. Will it hurt his campaign?

The associations between food insecurity and child well-being have been well studied on the basis of household levels of food insecurity, as reported by heads of households.

Household measures, however, may not capture gender biases in food insecurity and morbidity. This study assessed adolescents' own experience with food insecurity and how it was associated with morbidity and the effect of gender in this process. (Read the full article)

Although China has the largest birth population in the world and a number of multicenter studies of neonatal respiratory failure are reported, there is a paucity of data regarding outcome measurement of very premature neonates requiring respiratory care and surfactant therapy.

This study is the largest survey, to date, in a Chinese network of 55 NICUs that presents the incidence, morbidity, and mortality rates, with risk factors of neonatal respiratory failure, with special emphasis on surfactant-treated very immature infants. (Read the full article)

Infants weighing 501 to 1500 g are at high risk for mortality and for neonatal morbidities associated with both short- and long-term adverse consequences.

Mortality and major neonatal morbidity in survivors decreased for infants 501 to 1500 g between 2000 and 2009. However, in 2009, a high proportion of these infants still either died or survived after experiencing ≥1 major neonatal morbidity. (Read the full article)

Moderately preterm-born children (32–35^6/7 weeks’ gestation) are at risk for both neonatal morbidities after birth and developmental delays in early childhood. It is unknown whether neonatal morbidities contribute to the developmental delays of this particular group.

Of all neonatal morbidities commonly seen in moderately preterm-born children, only hypoglycemia increased the risk of developmental delay after moderately preterm birth. A concerted effort to prevent hypoglycemia after birth might enhance developmental outcome in this group. (Read the full article)

Mortality of very low birth weight infants varies widely between regions and countries; however, the variation in morbidities after adjusting for confounders has not been adequately studied.

Composite outcome of mortality or short-term morbidity for very low birth weight infants was lower in Japan than in Canada. However, marked variations in mortality and individual morbidity exist, revealing areas for improvement in each country. (Read the full article)

Randomized controlled trials have shown that zinc supplementation during diarrhea substantially reduces the incidence and severity. However, the effect of short-course prophylactic zinc supplementation has been observed only in children >12 months of age.

The current study was able to show that short-course prophylactic zinc supplementation significantly reduced diarrhea morbidity in apparently healthy infants of 6 to 11 months even after 5 months of follow-up. (Read the full article)

Parents influence their child’s overweight development through lifestyle-related parenting practices. Although broader parenting dimensions may also affect children’s BMI, reverse causality is possible and there have been calls to examine the possible impacts of fathers.

More consistent parenting prospectively predicted lower child BMI with effects equally strong for fathers and mothers. There was little evidence of child BMI influencing parenting. Improved child BMI could be among the benefits of promoting parenting consistency of both parents. (Read the full article)

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders have a higher comorbidity burden than the general pediatric population, including higher rates of seizures, psychiatric illness, and gastrointestinal disorders.

Comorbidities do not occur evenly. Our clustering analysis reveals subgroups characterized by seizure, psychiatric disorders, and complex multisystem disorders including auditory and gastrointestinal disorders. Correlations between seizure, psychiatric disorders, and gastrointestinal disorders are validated on a sample from a second hospital. (Read the full article)

Infants with trisomy 13 (T13) or trisomy 18 (T18) are known to have poor survival. Little is known about how very low birth weight (VLBW) impacts survival and morbidities among infants with T13 or T18.

We examined the risks of mortality and neonatal morbidities for VLBW infants with T13 or T18 compared with VLBW infants with trisomy 21 and VLBW infants without birth defects in a 16-year cohort from the Neonatal Research Network. (Read the full article)

In addition to seizures, school-aged children with epilepsy can have coexisting cognitive and behavioral difficulties, but the spectrum and prevalence of such difficulties are uncertain.

This study provides population-based data on the prevalence of common comorbid cognitive impairments and factors associated with such diagnoses in school-aged children with "active" epilepsy. (Read the full article)

Universal use of conjugated pneumococcal vaccines has resulted in dramatic decline in vaccine-type invasive pneumococcal disease. However, disease is not evenly distributed, and children with underlying clinical conditions are disproportionately represented, especially among children >5 years of age.

Invasive pneumococcal disease among children with comorbidity results in higher morbidity and mortality, and a large proportion of disease is due to serotypes not included in current conjugate vaccines. (Read the full article)

Although there is evidence regarding comorbidity of physical and mental disorders from clinical samples of specific disorders and treatment registries, there is limited evidence from systematic samples of youth with comprehensive information on the full range of mental and physical disorders.

This report is the first study to investigate the specificity of associations between a broad range of mental and physical conditions by using a large, systematically obtained pediatric sample with enriched information from electronic medical records and direct interviews. (Read the full article)

Studies on the risk of mortality and morbidities of extremely preterm infants of multiple gestation births have shown inconsistent results. Perinatal antecedents, admission status and severity of illness after birth can adversely affect outcomes of the extremely premature infants.

Preterm multiple gestation infants have increased risk of mortality but similar risk of major morbidities compared with singletons. Outcomes improved over time and all adverse outcomes, including mortality, were comparable between multiples and singletons in the most recent 5-year epoch. (Read the full article)

Adolescent vaccination rates lag behind other childhood vaccines. Text messaging to improve uptake of adolescent vaccines has been shown to be effective in academic centers but has not been studied in other settings.

This study, done in 5 private and 2 safety-net practices, used a bidirectional text message as a behavioral prompt and showed text messaging was effective at increasing uptake of all adolescent vaccines. Costs were similar to other reminder/recall methods. (Read the full article)

Jeffrey D. Horbar
Jun 1, 2012; 129:1019-1026
ARTICLES

Jeffrey D. Horbar
Jul 1, 2002; 110:143-151
ARTICLES

Former Vice President Joe Biden has approved a series of new hires that will significantly expand his campaign ahead of the general election fight with President Trump.

051 - Decision on 13 final tournament hosts to be taken in September 2014

As a U.S. senator and vice president, Biden focused on preschool, gun-free school zones, and the Obama administration's response to the Newtown, Conn. school shooting in 2012.

Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee and former US vice president Joe Biden alleged on Friday that President Donald Trump utterly failed to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic and said...

Agency: OMB Closing Date: 7/9/2020

Agency: CYF Closing Date: 6/30/2020

Newark --

The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) continues to review operational needs while keeping the health and safety of our employees and customers in mind.

Effective Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. , the Biden Welcome Center on I-95 in Newark will reopen to the public in a limited capacity. [More]

A court document has surfaced showing that Tara Reade – a former Senate staffer for Joe Biden who has accused him of sexual assault – told her then-husband she was harassed while working in his office.
Read Full Article at RT.com

A day after the Justice Department dropped charges against Gen. Michael Flynn, President Trump is accusing Joe Biden and a host of Obama administration officials of trying to sabotage his presidency, saying “it’s all coming out.”
Read Full Article at RT.com

Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein is being lambasted for apparent double standards after attacking Tara Reade, the former Joe Biden staffer who alleges the Democrat presidential candidate sexually assaulted her.
Read Full Article at RT.com

With US President Donald Trump preparing to square off with presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 race, Americans might as well be choosing between Orwell and Huxley, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters told RT.
Read Full Article at RT.com

Tesla Motors Inc.’s plan to build what co-founder Elon Musk bills as the world’s largest battery factory could shake up the power industry and trigger a bidding contest between states eager for the 6,500 jobs the $5 billion investment could create.

Bracing for greenhouse-gas rules from the Obama administration, two industries are staking out different positions. Coal companies are pledging to sue. Electric utilities are ready to talk.

Bracing for greenhouse-gas rules from the Obama administration, two industries are staking out different positions. Coal companies are pledging to sue. Electric utilities are ready to talk.

...

The Rivers State Government has asked it's Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to auction all vehicles that were impounded for violating the state’s lockdown directive.

Paulinus Nsirim, the state's Commissioner for Information and Communications, in a statement on Thursday, said interested Nigerians should check selected Nigerian newspapers in order to place their bids.

The statement reads, “Government will deal decisively with the residents of these areas if they are found to default again. 

“Anyone parading exemption letters except the one issued by the governor is doing so at his or her own risk as such permits are invalid.

“The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice has been directed to auction all vehicles that violated the lockdown order.

“Members of the public who are interested to buy the auctioned vehicles are to watch out for details in The Sun, The Nation and Vanguard Newspapers.”

SK Engineering & Construction has won a large-scale petrochemical plant project in Thailand. The company said on August 29 that it clinched a deal worth US$210 million to build polyol plant within the Hemaraj industrial zone in Thailand's Rayong. This followed news that the company signed a $1.6-billion project to modernize an oil refinery in Iran earlier this month. The plant, located 150 kilometers southeast of Thailand's capital Bangkok, is commissioned jointly by PTT Global Chemical, ...

By RNZ The cost of mandatory quarantine on both sides of the Tasman means a New Zealander living in Brisbane will not be reunited with his dying mother in Auckland.A close friend of the man - both of whom RNZ has agreed not...

Street facing Chinese Embassy would be named for doctor who tried to warn about coronavirus

Pressure from progressives for more expansive government assistance programs, especially now during the COVID pandemic, along with concerns over a recent sexual assault allegation and a challenge from a third-party candidate, threaten to fracture that unified support

Opposition to President Donald Trump has consolidated Democratic party...

Bill Maher is rather frustrated with Democrats and the liberal media . In particular, the talk show host and comedian...

Allies of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are being told to sharpen attacks on President Donald Trump's stimulus efforts as thinly veiled "cronyism", according to a memo being sent to Democratic office holders and supporters yesterday. The memo gives Mr Biden's campaign representatives new language to use in their attacks on Mr Trump and shows a...

The botched raid comes amid concerns over the regime’s ability to cope with COVID-19, given its run-down economy and health systems.

Biden has made no secret of his opposition to the Trump peace plan.

In the lead-up to the Truth Matters conference in October, we will be focusing our attention on the sufficiency, authority, and clarity of Scripture. Of our previous blog series, none better embodies that emphasis than Frequently Abused Verses. The following entry from that series originally appeared on September 16, 2015. -ed.

Love, don’t judge.

For many people in the church, that simple slogan has become the kneejerk defense in the face of criticism and confrontation. At some point, believers decided that careful discernment and agapē love are diametrically opposed; that judgment is always a threat to our unity in Christ. And with no regard for the quality or content of the exhortation, too many Christians speedily deploy Matthew 7:1 as an all-purpose, get-out-of-jail-free card: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”

Writing thirty years ago in his commentary on Matthew’s gospel, John MacArthur explained how that verse is routinely misapplied as a shield against confrontation and conflict in the church.

This passage has erroneously been used to suggest that believers should never evaluate or criticize anyone for anything. Our day hates absolutes, especially theological and moral absolutes, and such simplistic interpretation provides a convenient escape from confrontation. Members of modern society, including many professing Christians, tend to resist dogmatism and strong convictions about right and wrong. Many people prefer to speak of all-inclusive love, compromise, ecumenism, and unity. To the modern religious person those are the only “doctrines” worth defending, and they are the doctrines to which every conflicting doctrine must be sacrificed. ^[1] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-7 (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1985), 430.

In the intervening decades, the church’s appetite for criticism, conflict, and confrontation has only further diminished. And in that same time, the misunderstanding and misapplication of this verse and others like it (cf. Luke 6:37; John 3:17) has taken root in the church, skewing its perspective on discipline and judgment, and insulating its people from rebuke and exhortation.

In fact, many in the church today behave as if confrontation and discerning judgment are forbidden. Any confrontation—whether it’s a question of personal holiness or doctrinal disagreement—is seen as prideful overstepping and an attack on the unity of God’s people. As John MacArthur explains,

In many circles, including some evangelical circles, those who hold to strong convictions and who speak up and confront society and the church are branded as violators of this command not to judge, and are seen as troublemakers or, at best, as controversial. ^[2] The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-7, 431.

But Matthew 7:1 has nothing to do with avoiding conflict in favor of unity, or ignoring doctrinal or moral error in the name of love. As with many of the abused verses we’ll examine in this series, a simple look at the context makes the original intent of Christ’s words abundantly clear.

The seventh chapter of Matthew’s gospel represents the end of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount—His most extensive teaching on living as a citizen of the kingdom of God. Woven throughout that sermon is an exposé of the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of His day. Jesus upends the system of works-righteousness they had inflicted on God-fearing people throughout Israel.

During Christ’s life and ministry, the Jewish faith had been reduced to a heavy-handed list of dos and don’ts. The religious elite had obliterated God’s original intent in giving His law to His people, replacing it with a burdensome system of works righteousness. And they held the entire nation to their corrupt, man-made standard.

In his commentary, John MacArthur explains how the focus of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount makes it clear that the Lord was not prohibiting judgment, but promoting discernment.

If this greatest sermon by our Lord teaches anything, it teaches that His followers are to be discerning and perceptive in what they believe and in what they do, that they must make every effort to judge between truth and falsehood, between the internal and the external, between reality and sham, between true righteousness and false righteousness—in short, between God’s way and all other ways. ^[3] The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-7, 431.

With that in mind, the prohibition against judgment takes on completely different nuance. Christ was condemning a very specific kind of self-righteous judgment—the kind we see on display in His parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector.

And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

Like many professing believers today, the Pharisees put on a good show of public holiness, and loved looking down on anyone who didn’t. As John explains,

Jesus here is talking about the self-righteous, egotistical judgment and unmerciful condemnation of others practiced by the scribes and Pharisees. Their primary concern was not to help others from sin to holiness, but to condemn them to eternal judgment because of actions and attitudes that did not square with their own worldly, self-made traditions. ^[4] The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-7, 432.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1 were a reminder to the religious elite that they were not the final judges—that they too would stand before God, and that they would not want to be held to their own rigorous, self-righteous standard (Matthew 7:2). Believers today need to heed that warning as well, and avoid the same kind of hypocritical hubris regarding our own holiness, and how it corresponds to other believers’.

We also need to consider how to biblically discern, confront, and rebuke when necessary. Fortunately for us, Christ addressed that very issue in His subsequent statements.

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5)

Confrontation and criticism are not forbidden in the church, but they must be undergirded with humility and purity. We need to humbly submit to the Lord, shining the light of His Word into the dark corners of our own hearts instead of arrogantly pointing it in someone else’s face. It’s only when we’ve dealt faithfully and biblically with our own sin that we can help a brother see his own. And as John explains, even in the midst of confrontation, we need to maintain a spirit of humility.

All confrontation of sin in others must be done out of meekness, not pride. We cannot play the role of judge—passing sentence as if we were God. We cannot play the role of superior—as if we were exempt from the same standards we demand of others. We must not play the hypocrite—blaming others while we excuse ourselves. ^[5] The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-7, 437.

We do a great disservice to the Body of Christ when we confront and judge one another in arrogance and self-righteousness. But, as John MacArthur writes, we also do damage to the church if we fail to exercise godly judgment and discernment when it’s warranted.

There is also danger, however, even for the truly humble and repentant believer. The first danger . . . is of concluding that we have no right to oppose wrong doctrine or wrong practices in the church, lest we fall into judgmental self-righteousness. We will then not be willing to confront a sinning brother as the Lord clearly calls us to do. The second danger is closely related to the first. If we are afraid to confront falsehood and sin in the church, we will be inclined to become undiscriminating and undiscerning. The church, and our own lives, will become more and more in danger of corruption. Realizing the impact of sin in the assembly (1 Peter 4:15), Peter made a powerful call for a confrontive, critical church when he said, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17). Believers must be discerning and make proper judgment when it is required. ^[6] The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-7, 437.

Discernment does not have to lead to division. If we faithfully follow the pattern Christ gave us, we will be able to confront one another out of love and humility, not arrogance and self-righteousness. And we’ll be able to humbly accept the input of others without rushing to defensive arguments and judgmental retaliation.

In the lead-up to the Truth Matters conference in October, we will be focusing our attention on the sufficiency, authority, and clarity of Scripture. Of our previous blog series, none better embodies that emphasis than Frequently Abused Verses. The following entry from that series originally appeared on April 10, 2017. -ed.

False teaching thrives in environments where it is unlikely to be questioned. Charlatans and heretics prey on uncritical minds, and work tirelessly to protect and preserve that gullibility. Their success depends on dismantling every challenge to their authority and accuracy.

John MacArthur describes why that problem is rampant in the modern church:

In a time like this of tolerance, listen, false teaching will always cry intolerance; it will always say you’re being divisive, you’re being unloving, you’re being ungracious, because it can only survive when it doesn’t get scrutinized. And so it cries against any intolerance. It cries against any examination, any scrutiny.

In recent decades, some of the most notorious charismatic church leaders have been doing just that. They continually warn their critics to back off or face the imminent danger of divine judgment. Claiming God’s stamp of approval, they wield Psalm 105:15 like a loaded gun: “Touch not [the Lord’s] anointed” (KJV).

And lest you think such a description to be hyperbole, the following clip from Benny Hinn is a spectacular example. 

Hinn’s handling of Psalm 105:15, as well as the story of Saul and David, is hopelessly wrong on too many levels to address in one blog post.

For example we could discuss how Hinn utterly fails to understand Judas’s role in God’s sovereign plan for the crucifixion, while woefully underestimating the deity of Christ. We could invalidate Hinn’s warnings against criticism by pointing out the time Paul rebuked Peter—or when Hinn has publicly rebuked Joel Osteen, among others. Then there’s the problem of Hinn basing his threats upon the extra-biblical revelation of another false teacher (Kenneth Copeland).

 What does it mean to “touch”?

But there is one simple, glaring error that explains all the other problems and exposes Hinn as the incompetent and unqualified Bible teacher that he is. When David says, “I will not stretch out my hand against [Saul], for he is the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 24:10), he is explaining why he didn’t kill Saul, not why he didn’t criticize Saul. In fact, David was openly critical of Saul on numerous occasions. Moreover, 1 Samuel 24:10 is part of a larger discourse where David rebukes Saul face-to-face over his murderous scheming: “I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it. May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you” (1 Samuel 24:11–13). Even if Benny Hinn was “the Lord’s anointed”—he’s not—none of his critics are attempting to “touch” him in the sense described in 1 Samuel 24:10 (or Psalm 105:15; or 1 Chronicles 16:22).

Who are the anointed?

There is another fatal flaw in Hinn’s interpretation. He—and all those who follow this teaching—assume that only certain persons are “anointed.” They claim that pastors and self-appointed prophets and apostles have a unique anointing from God that immunizes them from criticism. But such a concept is foreign to Scripture. In short, the Bible teaches that all believers have an anointing from God.

In his first epistle, the apostle John explained what it means to be anointed as a New Testament believer. After warning his readers about antichrists who were coming to deceive them, John reminded them of their security because of Christ’s anointing:

These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. (1 John 2:26–27)

The anointing John refers to is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—a reality for all true Christians. John MacArthur explains the context and meaning of “anointing” as it appears in 1 John:

The false teachers who threatened John’s readers employed the terms for knowledge and anointing to describe their religious experience. They arrogantly saw themselves as possessing an elevated and esoteric form of divine knowledge, and as the recipients of a special, secret, transcendent anointing. That led them to believe they were privy to truth that the uninitiated lacked. John’s response, which was both a rebuttal to the antichrists and a reassurance to the believers, was to assert that, in reality, all true Christians have an anointing from the Holy One.

Because believers have received that anointing, they have the true understanding of God that comes exclusively through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6), “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). They do not need any secret, special, or transcendent understanding or esoteric insight. Anointing (chrisma) literally means “ointment” or “oil” (cf. Hebrews 1:9). In this text it refers figuratively to the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:21–22), who has taken up residency in believers at the behest of Jesus Christ, the Holy One (cf. Luke 4:34; Acts 3:14), and reveals through Scripture all they need to know (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:9–10). ^[1] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1–3 John (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 2007), 102.

The anointing we have as believers reveals the truth and therefore exposes the lies of false teachers. How ironic that the “anointing” Benny Hinn evokes to extort and manipulate churchgoers is actually our warning system to expose the self-serving deception of wolves like him.   

Former US Senate aide Tara Reade said on Thursday that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden should acknowledge her claim that he sexually assaulted her is true and quit the 2020 presidential race.“You and I were there, Joe Biden. Please step forward and be held accountable. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States,” Reade said during her first on-camera interview since Biden appeared on MSNBC last week and denied her accusation for the first…