Author Archives: Marsha West

About Marsha West

Marsha West is the owner and managing editor of Christian Research Network, Apprising Ministries (the late Ken Silva’s blog) and On Solid Rock Resources. She is also co-founder of Berean Research. For two decades Marsha was the owner and managing editor of Email Brigade website as well as the EMB News Report, a bi-weekly email report for conservative people of faith. For many years Marsha was a regular contributor to several blogs including CRN, RenewAmerica, News With Views and Web Commantary as well as popular websites she no longer endorses: American Family Association, Worldview Weekend, Stand Up For The Truth, The Christian Post and Christian Headlines. Although Marsha still blogs, her primary focus is CRN. Marsha also writes Research Papers (White Papers) on various topics that are published on CRN, Berean Research and On Solid Rock Resources. Visit Marsha’s other sites: On Solid Rock Resources https://www.onsolidrockresources.com/ Apprising Ministries http://apprising.org Marsha’s RenewAmerica Column http://renewamerica.com/columns/mwest Marsha’s Facebook Page http://facebook.com/marsha.west.77

Top 10 Best Christmas Songs of All Time

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙

A few days ago we posted “Top 10 Worst Christmas Songs of All Time” and wrote:

The songs were picked by author and speaker Michelle Lesley.  Michelle includes videos so that visitors to her blog will know just how appalling some popular “Christmas” songs are.

So now Michelle presents her opinion of the 10 best Christmas songs and once again she includes videos:

Christmas songs. Everybody’s got a favorite or two, or ten! I’ve given you my list of the ten worst. Now, in no particular order (mostly), and according to nothing other than my own preferences, here are my nominations for the ten best Christmas songs ever.

(Note: I do not necessarily endorse all of the songwriters or performers listed below, the churches/organizations they represent, any other songs they may have written or performed, or their theology. If you decide to follow any of these people or groups, check out their theology first to make sure it’s biblical.)

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RC Sproul Jr. Was Driving Drunk With Two of His Underage Children, Drove Off Roadway, Struck Curb

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Christian Post, a site we do not recommend, has the details of R.C. Sproul Jr.’s arrest for driving under the influence.  According to Leoardo Blair, when Sproul was arrested his blood-alcohol level was .15, nearly twice the legal limit. What happens when a person’s blood alcohol level is .15?

0.13 — 0.15 BAC: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria* is beginning to appear. Judgment and perception are severely impaired.( * —Dysphoria: An emotional state of anxiety, depression, or unease.) 

.15 = This blood-alcohol level means the equivalent of 1/2 pint of whiskey is circulating in the blood stream. (Source)

Read our earlier posts here and here. Now to CP’s report:

With a blood alcohol content of 0.175, more than twice the legal limit for the state of Indiana, R.C. Sproul Jr., whose father Robert Charles Sproul founded Ligonier Ministries, was driving dangerously with not one but two of his underage children in his vehicle when he was arrested for a DUI last month.

A certified copy of the affidavit of probable cause against Sproul Jr. acquired by The Christian Post Thursday shows that at about 8:28 p.m. on Nov. 29, Allen County Police Officer Paul Heffner observed the former minister driving left of the center line, failed to maintain his lane, drove off the roadway, struck a curb and was weaving.

He was also driving at 30 mph for at least 2 miles with a flat tire on I-469.

When he was eventually stopped, the officer observed that he needed support to walk, he swayed, mumbled and had a moderate smell of alcohol on his breath. A chemical test later revealed his blood alcohol content as 0.175.

A CP report first revealed that Sproul Jr. was initially arrested in Indiana for driving under the influence with a minor in his vehicle just over a week before he resigned from Ligonier Ministries for “personal reasons.”

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Republicans accuse Dems of ‘hypocrisy’ after ‘bathroom bill’ repeal falls apart

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Fox News reports:

North Carolina Republican leaders are blasting their Democratic colleagues after a supposedly bipartisan deal to repeal the state’s “bathroom bill” limiting LGBT protections collapsed Wednesday night, with every Senate Democrat balking in the end.

Both sides were pointing fingers in the aftermath of the unproductive special session, called specifically to consider repeal legislation for the law known as House Bill 2. The law omits gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from state anti-discrimination protections, bars local governments from passing broad non-discrimination ordinances covering them, and orders transgender people to use bathrooms and showers that align with their sex at birth.

“I’m disappointed that we have yet to remove the stain from the reputation of our great state that is around this country and around the world,” Democratic Gov.-elect Roy Cooper said.

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Gay ornament pulled from store after protest

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According to Religion News Service:

Nativity scene with homosexual Josephs. Photo credit: The Sun

Jesus has two mommies. Or two daddies. Take your pick.

Actually, Jesus had two mommies and daddies in a pair of same-sex-themed Christmas ornaments for sale online until the designer withdrew them after a protest by a British Christian interest group.

Mark Thaler, a San Francisco-based artist and designer, was offering the ornaments via Zazzle.com, the online retailer of all things odd. They were round discs featuring figurines of either two Josephs or two Marys gazing at a baby Jesus in the manger.

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How to Read Your Way to Heaven?

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Not possible says the editors of Berean Research.  Here’s why:

Advertising claims can be quite sensational, but I’ve never heard one quite like this. I came across this ad for a brand new book that promises instant access to heaven IF you’ll only read the book, titled, How to Read Your Way to Heaven – A Spiritual Reading Program for the Worst of Sinners, the Greatest of Saints, and Everyone in Between,

That’s quite a claim, considering Jesus says He is the only way to Heaven.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9).

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Texas Megachurch Turns Christmas Production Into Circus—Literally

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Dr. Ed Young, Sr., twice president of the SBC, recently held a circus in the church he pastors. Christian News Network has the story:

A megachurch in Texas recently turned its annual Christmas production in its worship center into a circus—literally, complete with a ringmaster, tricks and trapezes.

The Second Baptist Church of Texas, led by Dr. Ed Young, Sr., presented “Christmas Under the Big Top” at its Woodway campus from Friday to Tuesday, with tickets ranging from $10 to $25. The 90-minute drama centered on a storyline about a fictional effort to save a financially-struggling circus by putting on a Christmas show.

In addition to much singing and dancing, the program also featured a Stomp-like trash can drumming performance, and plenty of circus tricks, from juggling to acrobatics to Cyr wheel spinning. Styles of music varied from traditional to big band, to hip-hop and rock. A segment of the production also included a living nativity, and a brief message about life’s “distractions” from the meaning of Christmas was delivered near the conclusion.

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Top 10 Worst Christmas Songs of All Time

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Opinion ∙

The songs were picked by author and speaker Michelle Lesley.  Michelle includes videos so that visitors to her blog will know just how appalling some popular “Christmas” songs are.

For me, part of the reason Christmas is the “most wonderful time of the year” is the music. There are the old favorites as well as some great new songs that have come out over the years. Unfortunately, there are some stinkers out there, too. Everybody has her own taste, so the songs that give you the Christmas crazies are probably different from the ones that get on my nerves, but, here, in no particular order, are my ten picks for the worst Christmas songs of all time.

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Hillsong’s Naked Cowboy is Back — Except Now it’s Naked Santa!

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“This comes as no surprise since Hillsong is known for its debauchery and trashy performances,” says Jeff Maples of Pulpit & Pen.  He writes:

Earlier this year Pulpit & Pen brought you the story of Hillsong, NYC’s youth pastor, Diego Simila, who posed as the infamous “Naked Cowboy” at a Hillsong women’s conference. There were also other more than questionable appearances of debauched characters at various other Hillsong conferences during that time, including the sex pervert, Austin Powers, who showed up at the London conference. Hillsong received quite a bit of backlash for these lewd acts of moral degeneracy including from Montanist apologist and noted Hillsong defender, Michael Brown.

As if these salacious acts weren’t enough to turn any biblically-minded Christian away from the perversion of the Bride of Christ that is Hillsong, Diego Simila is back–posing once again in an obscene display of lasciviousness, as a nearly-naked Santa.

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Berlin Backlash Reveals ‘Mainstream’ Refugee Wakeup

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LifeZette reports:

Following Monday’s Islamic terrorist attack in Berlin, Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s Front National, posed a simple question.

“How many massacres and deaths will be necessary for our governments to stop bringing a considerable number of migrants into our countries without borders, when we know that terrorist Islamists are involved?” she asked in an official statement.

It seems that in the wake of the horrific incident at a Berlin Christmas market, the governments of Europe may finally be, however reluctantly, willing to discuss the threat of militant Islam honestly.

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Christians Warn Upcoming ‘Shack’ Movie Depicting God as Woman Could ‘Far Outweigh’ Harm of Novel

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Heather Clark of Christian News Network examines the heretical best-selling book “The Shack,” which has been made into a movie that will be released in March 2017. There’s little doubt that many professing Christians will flock to theaters to view the film. Clark writes:

Christian leaders who have issued warnings about William P. Young’s bestselling novel “The Shack,” which portrays God as a woman and espouses universalistic beliefs, state that if the scheduled national film release is faithful to the text of the book, its distribution could “far outweigh” the harm already done to souls through the printed page.

“If the film is a faithful portrayal of the events and the theology of the book, then every Christian should be gravely alarmed at the further advance of beliefs that smear the evangelical understanding of the truth of the Bible,” James B. DeYoung, author of “Burning Down the Shack: How the ‘Christian’ Bestseller is Deceiving Millions” and an acquaintence of Young, told Christian News Network.

As previously reported, “The Shack,” released in 2007, is stated to have sold approximately 20 million copies and has been translated into 39 languages. In 2013, Lionsgate Entertainment obtained the rights to turn the book into a film, which is now scheduled to be released in March 2017 and is currently being promoted nationwide.

“The Shack” tells the story of a man named Mackenzie “Mack” Phillips who faces a crisis while on a family vacation as his youngest daughter Missy is abducted and presumably killed in an abandoned shack. Years later, the grieving father receives a note from “Papa,” who tells Phillips that it has “been a while” and to meet up at the shack the following weekend.

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‘Gold Is Now Effectively Illegal’ In India – The Consequences Of Creating A Cashless Society

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According to Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge, in India gold ownership will be limited to only small amounts of personal jewelry.  “There are clear signs that in a very convoluted way, possession of gold for investment purposes will be made illegal,” writes Durden. Here’s his report:

Jayant Bhandari warns “there are clear signs that in a very convoluted way, possession of gold for investment purposes will be made illegal” as he discusses India’s attempts to create a cashless society (and consequences of it) and why precious metals and geographical diversification are the most viable options investors around the world, not just India, should be taking.

“The situation is getting worse by the day… people are desperate”

Jayant provides the clearest explanation of where India is (and where it is going) in the brief interview with ProvenAndProbable.com’s Maurice Jackson …

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Gay dads set to use sex selection to make sure they get baby girls

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The Christian Institute reports:

A British same-sex couple who currently have four boys and a girl are set to use sex selection of embryos in a bid to obtain female triplets.

Sex selection is only allowed in the UK on strict medical grounds, so the pair plan to have the procedure in the USA.

Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow became the first British same-sex couple to be named on their children’s birth certificates in 1999 and Barrie now claims his “biological clock is ticking” and he needs “another princess”.

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Trump secures victory in Electoral College, as bid to flip electors flops

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According to Fox News:

President-elect Donald Trump won more than enough votes in the Electoral College on Monday to secure his White House victory, as the latest – and perhaps last – stop-Trump movement failed to gain traction in state capitals.

A fervent push by anti-Trump forces to persuade electors to defect had turned the normally mundane civic procedure into high drama.

But the representatives designated to cast ballots in accordance with their states’ Nov. 8 decision mostly adhered to the results of the election. With several states still voting, Trump had 304 votes and Hillary Clinton had 169.

It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes.

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At least 9 dead after truck plows into crowded Christmas market in Berlin; attack believed

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Fox News reports:

A truck plowed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin on Monday killing at least nine people and injuring more than 50 people, police said.

Police said on Twitter that the truck rammed into the market outside the capital’s popular Christmas market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Monday evening.

At first glance, police said the incident appears to be an attack, but an investigation is underway, DPA reported.

Bild newspaper posted a picture of a large Scania truck with its windshield smashed out on the sidewalk alongside the market.

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‘Bad Beer or No Beer?’ R.C. Sproul, Jr., Who Advocated ‘Drinking Well,’ Arrested for Felony DUI

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Christian News Network has the story on what might be the reason R.C. Sproul Jr. suddenly resigned from his positions at Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College:

Prominent Reformed theologian, author, speaker and former Presbyterian elder Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr., who once stated that one of his “favorite intellectual debates” is “[i]s bad beer better than no beer?” has resigned from his positions at his father’s Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College a week after being arrested on felony DUI charges.

Ligonier Ministries released a statement about Sproul’s resignation on Monday, but only marked the departure as being for “personal reasons.”

“Last Friday, the board of directors of Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College received and affirmed the resignation of Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. He is stepping away from his duties at the ministry and the college for personal reasons,” it wrote. “This was communicated by phone to his father, Dr. R.C. Sproul, the founder of Ligonier Ministries and chancellor of Reformation Bible College, and it was later communicated in writing to the entire board of directors of Ligonier Ministries.”

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Liberty University to Open First On-Campus Firing Range in Nation

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Christian News Network reports:

Liberty University, which heralds itself as the world’s largest Christian university, is set to become the first educational institution in the nation to open an on-campus firing range.

“We have a very pro-Second Amendment student body,” President Jerry Falwell told the Washington Post this week.

He said that one of the reasons for the shooting range is because he believes those with malicious intent are more likely to carry out their attacks at facilities that are marked as “gun free zones.”

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R.C. Sproul Jr. Resigned From Ligonier Ministries After Felonious DUI Arrest With Minor in Vehicle

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Christian Post, a site we do not recommend, discloses the personal reasons R.C. Sproul Jr. resigned from Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College:

Just over a week before he resigned from Ligonier Ministries for “personal reasons,” R.C. Sproul Jr., whose father Robert Charles Sproul founded the teaching fellowship ministry, was arrested in Indiana for driving under the influence with a minor in his vehicle.

A summary of the charges against Sproul provided by the Indiana court system shows that he was charged on four counts on Nov. 29.

Sproul was charge with two class A misdemeanors: operating a vehicle with alcohol concentration equivalent to .15 or more, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a person. Under Indiana law both charges attract up to 365 days of jail time, probation for a year, and the suspension of a driver license for up to two years.

A summary of the charges against Sproul provided by the Indiana court system shows that he was charged on four counts on Nov. 29.

Sproul was charge with two class A misdemeanors: operating a vehicle with alcohol concentration equivalent to .15 or more, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a person. Under Indiana law both charges attract up to 365 days of jail time, probation for a year, and the suspension of a driver license for up to two years.

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Must We Believe the Virgin Birth?

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The question is addressed to all those who profess faith in Jesus Christ.  Albert Mohler, president of Baptist Theological Seminary, penned this piece in 2010. His question requires a yes or no answer; either we believe Mary was a virgin when she was found to be with child through the power of the Holy Spirit, or we choose to reject the narrative found in the gospels and chalk it up, as some do, to a “pious legend.”  Dr. Mohler answers the question:

In one of his columns for The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof once pointed to belief in the Virgin Birth as evidence that conservative Christians are “less intellectual.” Are we saddled with an untenable doctrine? Is belief in the Virgin Birth really necessary?

Kristof is absolutely aghast that so many Americans believe in the Virgin Birth. “The faith in the Virgin Birth reflects the way American Christianity is becoming less intellectual and more mystical over time,” he explains, and the percentage of Americans who believe in the Virgin Birth “actually rose five points in the latest poll.” Yikes! Is this evidence of secular backsliding?

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Of Course Russia Meddles in Our Elections — But the ‘Hacking’ Claim Is a Farce

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Andrew C. McCarthy of National Review tackles the burning question: Did Russian hackers try to influence the election?  He writes:

They hypocrisy oozing from the peddling of this week’s narrative about Russian “meddling” in the U.S. presidential election is thick even by the sorry standards of modern American politics.

I feel entitled to be amused, having maintained, through a decade of bipartisan idiocy, that Putin’s thug-ocracy is an enemy of the United States: from the Bush-administration howler that Russia is our “strategic partner,” through eight years of the Obama-Hillary “reset”; from Obama’s mumbling as Putin annexed Crimea and other swathes of Ukraine (after Obama, as a senator, joined with senior Republicans to disarm Ukraine), through Bush’s mumbling as Putin annexed swathes of Georgia. I saw Russia as a major problem long before it began violating the “new START” treaty that Obama signed and Republicans approved; before Secretary Clinton helped Putin cronies acquire a major slice of American uranium stock; and before Obama’s promise to Vlad (communicated through Putin-puppet Medvedev) that he’d have “more flexibility” to cut deals after the 2012 election.

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Human Trials Envisioned After Scientists Reverse Aging In Mammals

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According to The Telegraph:

An end to grey hair and crows-feet could be just 10 years away after scientists showed it is possible to reverse ageing in animals.

Using a new technique which takes adult cells back to their embryonic form, US researchers at the Salk Institute in California, showed it was possible to reverse ageing in mice, allowing the animals to not only look younger, but live for 30 per cent longer.

The technique involves stimulating four genes which are particularly active during development in the womb. It was also found to work to turn the clock back on human skin cells in the lab, making them look and behave younger.

Scientists hope to eventually create a drug which can mimic the effect of the found genes which could be taken to slow down, and even reverse the ageing process. They say it will take around 10 years to get to human trials.

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Obama Tries to Trump-Proof Planned Parenthood Funding

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“Outgoing president bullies states to keep money flowing to abortion provider,” says Jim Stinson of LifeZette. He writes:

President Obama is moving aggressively to protect the flow of revenue to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers before he leaves office.

Obama has finalized a rule that would benefit Planned Parenthood and protect abortion providers from the democratic grant-making process in the states.

Lawmakers have vowed to reverse the rule.

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Clayton Jennings Ends ‘Restoration’ Process, Says Mentor Tony Nolan

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As previously reported, self-described evangelist Clayton Jennings had his “ministerial credentials” revoked after confessing to, among other things, luring women into sexual sin.  Jennings agreed to enter a restoration process but apparently it was short lived.  According to Polemics Report:

In a tweet sent out on December 12, Tony Nolan notified the public that his disgraced mentee, Clayton Jennings, had abandoned the process of ‘restoration’ and repentance that they advertised together in a mutual video put out several weeks ago and posted to their social media accounts.

 

screenshot-2016-12-14-10-08-14

Jennings is a popular youth-oriented evangelist who used social media as a springboard for his rise on the evangelical lecture circuit. Jennings, who fancies himself a “poet” in the genre of “spoken word” was first written about by Pulpit & Pen in September of 2015 in a post that highlighted his very apparent charming of the fairer sex and borderline lasciviousness that weaved its way through his gimmicky appeal. While the post did not accuse Jennings of impropriety, it did raise a very explicit red flag that this man – given everything that could be seen publicly – was possibly leading women to his charms more so than to Christ.

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Congress Passes ‘International Religious Freedom Act’ to Combat Persecution Worldwide

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Christian News Network reports:

Congress passed a bill this week that aims to give the White House and State Department improved tools to address religious persecution worldwide.

The Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act had been introduced in the House last year by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and then in the Senate this year by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. The bi-partisan-backed bill first passed the House in May and then came before the Senate this month, where it passed unanimously.

It is named after former Congressman Frank Wolf, who first helmed the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998, and is stated to expand upon his work.

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Yet Another Criminal Referral for Planned Parenthood and its Affiliates

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Last year, Center for Medical Progress undercover videos revealed that Planned Parenthood affiliates were illegally profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. So now the government will finally investigate for possible prosecution.  According to Alexandra Desanctis of National Review:

Photo credit: Godspeak Calvary Chapel

Senator Chuck Grassley, who serves as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced this afternoon that he has referred Planned Parenthood for America and several of its local affiliates to the FBI and the Justice Department for investigation and possible prosecution. These referrals are the result of Grassley’s ongoing investigation into the group’s involvement in fetal-tissue transfers and violations of federal law related to the fetal-tissue trafficking industry.

“I don’t take lightly making a criminal referral,” Grassley said in a release Tuesday afternoon. “But, the seeming disregard for the law by these entities has been fueled by decades of utter failure by the Justice Department to enforce it.”

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