View this email in your browser

It's Saturday, February 24, 2024.

Today’s edition covers responses to Alabama’s ruling that embryos are children, the controversial life of proto-Protestant Peter Waldo, an introduction to what the Bible calls spiritual “milk,” and more.

“[Wisdom] is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” (Proverbs 3:15) — What a superlative statement! Wisdom is literally the best thing. Let’s seek it.

Of Christian Concern

ALABAMA SUPREME COURT RULES THAT EMBRYOS ARE CHILDREN, CRITICS AND SUPPORTERS RESPOND

Screenshot from “Build-a-Baby,” a satirical video that highlights how non-ideal embryos are discarded during in vitro fertilization. (Choice42 / YouTube)

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last Friday that embryos fertilized through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are children, “meaning people could theoretically be sued for destroying an embryo.” This has raised questions about whether the practice will be allowed in the state at all, causing multiple clinics to “pause IVF treatment.”

Unsurprisingly, abortion supporters expressed their disapproval for the ruling. Priscilla Smith, director of the Program for the Study of Reproductive Justice at Yale Law School, weighed in: “The next step will be to say, ‘Well, if an embryo is a person [outside the uterus], clearly it's a person in utero.’” She added, “I don't want to be dramatic and say it's totally Handmaid's Tale, but more and more, you're in the situation rather where the state controls your behavior.’”

On the other side, some Christians have voiced support for the ruling. Attorney Bradley Pierce and others circulated anti-abortion group Choice42’s satirical yet informative video “Build-a-Baby,” which is aimed at exposing the dehumanizing nature of IVF. “Most people who support IVF have no idea how the process actually works,” Pierce posted. “If you support it, you need to watch this.”

Also Noteworthy

→ 92% of U.S. adults embrace syncretism (a blend of ideas from competing worldviews), making it the dominant worldview in the nation, according to a new Barna poll. Second place is biblical theism, at 4%.

→ Donald Trump does not support a 16-week abortion ban with exceptions, as was rumored by The New York Times last Friday, according to his presidential campaign. The campaign has reportedly stated that Trump has not decided whether to support a national ban.

→ Indonesia ended its policy of referring to Jesus by an Islamic name, as an accommodation to the Christian population.

→ Fani Willis, the Georgia district attorney prosecuting Trump for allegedly trying to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election result, received an award from a Seventh Day Adventist church in Atlanta last Saturday. Meanwhile, Christian author Jack Richardson IV includes Willis on his list of “murderers of the rule of law.”

→ Kanye West (now called Ye), who won a Grammy in 2021 for his Christian album “Jesus Is King,” says he’s “the new Jesus” in a profane and sexually graphic song on his latest album.

Church History Tidbit

Who’s Waldo?

1868 statue of Peter Waldo at the Luther Memorial in Worms, Germany—with an addition.

Peter Waldo (d. c. 1218)—whose name may not actually be Peter—was a wealthy merchant who was struck with conviction around the age of 30. Some say it was the result of witnessing a friend’s death, while others say it was the moving story of the 5th-century mystic Alexis, as recounted by a troubadour—a type of composer and performer that was popular in the Middle Ages.

Either way, he began studying scripture, and commissioned a translation of the New Testament into the local language, Provençal. He also began seeking priestly counsel, which soon led him to embrace Jesus’ command to the rich young ruler to sell everything and give to the poor, after making provision for his wife and daughters.

He began street preaching and gaining followers, who came to be called “Poor Men of Lyon, The Poor of God, Waldensians, or Waldenses.” He and his followers spread what they learned from the Bible, which led them to object to certain teachings, practices, and structures of the Catholic Church.

Jealous bishops objected to the Waldensians’ work, and Waldo sought audience with the Pope to get approval in 1179. Despite initial acceptance, Waldo was excommunicated in 1184. For the following 300+ years, his followers suffered persecution for their reform views, “which were far from heretical and in agreement with much that would later be found in the Franciscan movement and in Protestantism.” For these reasons, Waldo is considered a proto-Protestant.

Learn more here.

The Bible, Briefly

Milk

Photo: ALINA MATVEYCHEVA

In Hebrews 5:11 and following, the author chastises his original readers for not being as spiritually mature as they ought to have been. “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food…” (5:12).

Here we see two terms for the same thing: first, “the basic principles of the oracles of God,” and second (figuratively), “milk.” It is clear from these expressions that the author is referring to the most essential Christian teachings, the first things that new Christians learn—just like milk is the first thing babies drink.

In 6:1, the author uses yet another term to describe this “milk”: “the elementary doctrine of Christ.” He says his readers ought to grow beyond this “elementary doctrine...and go on to maturity…” Then, most helpfully, he lists each of the components of this foundational doctrine: “repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,…instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (6:1-2).

The author’s point is a negative one: those who are mature in Christ should have already mastered these subjects. But the list here also has a positive use: for those who are new in Christ, these are the topics to focus on.

What a blessing for those who have the opportunity to disciple new believers that God has provided an inspired curriculum to do just that. Over the next few weeks, The Bible, Briefly will examine each of these topics in turn, with an eye toward how one might present these basic principles of the faith to new believers or Jesus-curious not-yet-believers. Stay tuned.

What did you think of today’s briefing?

Know someone who would enjoy this?Please SHARE this newsletter

Have some feedback for me? Reply to this email with comments or suggestions. I’d love to hear from you!

Why "18:15"? The name Project 18:15 is based on Proverbs 18:15: “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” The aim is for this weekly email—a Christian news briefing, a Bible study, and a Church history lesson rolled into one—to be one way you keep abreast of current events and acquire knowledge you might not acquire elsewhere.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright (C) " target="_blank">unsubscribe