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It's Saturday, June 8, 2024.

Today’s edition covers a 75-year-old pro-life woman’s prison sentence, a pastor’s heartbreaking blog posts documenting his 6-year-old daughter’s final week, the life and legacy of Jan Hus, whether Jonah died in the fish’s belly, and more.

Proverbs 2:9-10 invites us: if you seek wisdom and receive it from the LORD, “Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul…”

Of Christian Concern

75-YEAR-OLD WOMAN IN POOR HEALTH SENTENCED TO 2 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ABORTION CLINIC PROTEST

Photo: Live Action

Washington D.C. federal court judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has sentenced pro-life activist Paulette Harlow, 75, to two years in prison despite her age and poor health after she was convicted for blocking entrance to an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C.

In response to Harlow’s husband’s pleas for mercy out of concern that she may die alone in prison, Kollar-Kotelly reportedly replied that Harlow, a devout Catholic, would “make an effort to remain alive” because that is a “tenet of [Harlow’s] religion.”

Outspoken pro-lifer Joel Berry observes: “Blocking entrances has always been a common form or protest for PETA, Pro-Palestine, BLM, Climate Change, and Trans activist protestors. Only for pro-lifers has the government carved out a special federal law with stiff penalties like this. This is unjust.”

Daily Signal reports, “When asked if she would like prayer for her upcoming sentence, Harlow instead requested that people pray for unborn babies and mothers in vulnerable situations. 

“‘I’ll be OK,’ she said. ‘I’m with God. I have a wonderful husband, wonderful friends and family, and supporters all over the place. Pray for those mothers that do not have that kind of support and go up to the abortion clinics.’”

Also Noteworthy

Six-year-old Lucy Morgan’s first prayer journal entry, written a few weeks before her tragic death. (New Creation Living)

→ A United Methodist conference of 1.2 million members in Ivory Coast (West Africa) voted last week to leave the United Methodist Church (UMC) denomination after its recent support for gay marriage and homosexual clergy. Korean Methodist pastors also debate severing ties with the UMC.

→ Disgraced ex-pastor Carl Lentz and his wife Laura release “Lights On,” a podcast in which they discuss the scandalous events that resulted in Lentz losing his pastorate with Hillsong and their leaving public life (Episode 1 / Episode 2)

→ Pakistani officials have not prosecuted a group of Muslims after they tortured their Catholic employee—who died 10 days later from the injuries—and pressured his widow’s family members not to accuse them. | Also in Pakistan, a Christian woman jailed “on baseless charges of blasphemy” was denied bail. “Rights activists” consider the incident to be part of a broader organized campaign against Christians.

→ COVID vaccines “may have helped fuel a rise in excess deaths” totaling more than three million, according to The Telegraph’s report on a recent peer-reviewed study.

→ Jesse Morgan, discipleship/worship pastor at Green Pond Bible Church (Newfoundland, NJ), blogged through the tragedy of his six-year-old daughter Lucy’s freak accident injury and eventual death this week in a series of heart-wrenching yet faith-affirming posts. (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5)

Church History Tidbit

Jan Hus Lit A Fire

Burning of Jan Hus during the Council of Constance in 1415, by Ulrich von Richental (died in c. 1438), depicted in the Chronik des Konstanzer Konzils; Prague manuscript. (Public Domain)

Education and Influence

Jan Hus (1362-1415)—aka John Huss—was born in Husinec, Bohemia (in present-day Czech Republic) and educated at the University of Prague, where he became the dean of the philosophical faculty in 1401. Ordained as a priest in 1400, he was appointed in 1402 as a preacher at the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague, where he preached in the people’s language (Czech), gaining a significant following.

Hus was influenced by the writings of English reformer John Wycliffe, particularly his ideas on church reform and the authority of the Bible—though Hus disagreed with Wycliffe’s opposition to transubstantiation. Hus criticized the Catholic Church for its sale of indulgences, the moral failings of its clergy, and its wealth.

Excommunication and Execution

His support of Wycliffe's teachings (considered heretical by many) and his criticism of the Church led to his excommunication by Pope Alexander V in 1409. Despite his excommunication, Hus continued to preach, gaining the support of many in Bohemia. 

Eventually, he was summoned to the Council of Constance in 1414 to defend his views and to address charges of heresy. Despite being promised safe conduct by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund to attend the council, Hus was arrested and imprisoned upon his arrival at Constance. He stood on trial for heresy in 1415 and was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to death by burning at the stake. On July 6, 1415, he was burned at the stake, reportedly dying singing hymns.

Impact and Legacy

His death sparked the Hussite Wars (1419-1434), a series of conflicts between Hussite forces and those loyal to the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire. Despite his tragic end, Jan Hus is considered a martyr and a national hero in Bohemia. His teachings also influenced later reformers, including Martin Luther. Today, July 6 is celebrated as a public holiday in the Czech Republic, known as Jan Hus Day, to honor his contributions to religious reform and Czech nationalism.

Editor’s disclosure: AI helped with the composition of this text.

The Bible, Briefly

Did Jonah Die In the Fish’s Belly?

Jonah and the Whale (1621) by Pieter Lastman. (Public Domain)

In Jonah 2:2, the titular prophet, having been swallowed by a great fish (notice: it’s a “fish,” not necessarily a whale), prays, “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried.” Sheol is the place of the dead. So, does that mean Jonah actually died?

“Scholars are very much split on this issue,” writes pastor and PhD candidate Ken Banks, “with perhaps a majority being in favor of the idea that Jonah did not die.” Those who argue that Jonah actually died and came back to life think “Sheol” is literal, while those who say he didn’t die think it’s poetic/figurative/hyperbolic. Here are a few arguments for and against.

HE DIED

As one commenter on the topic alludes to, the narrative portrays Jonah as having prayed the entire prayer recorded in 2:2-9 while in the belly of the fish (2:1-2a). It was sometime after he prayed that he was vomited onto dry land (2:10). This suggests that the deliverance that Jonah’s prayer refers to (e.g., “you brought up my life from the pit” [2:6], “pit” being another common reference to Sheol) must have happened before he was vomited. What could that event have been if not for his resurrection?

HE DIDN’T DIE

On the other hand, despite how the text presents it, some suppose Jonah didn’t pray the prayer exactly as we now have it. In the words of Bible commentator Adam Clarke, though “the substance of this poetic prayer was composed while in the fish’s belly,” “the prophet appears to have thrown it in into its present poetic form, and to have added some circumstances, such as…his deliverance from this imminent danger of death.”

NO, HE DIED

That interpretation could be accused of denying what the text actually says since the text claims to record the prayer that Jonah prayed while in the belly of the fish.

NO, HE DIDN’T DIE

By contrast, however, the popular Bible Q&A website GotQuestions argues that Jonah’s praying of this prayer in the fish’s belly (2:1) is, in fact, evidence that he must not have died. Why’s that? Because how could he pray from the fish’s belly if he was dead? “At the very least, he lived long enough to offer his prayer.”

YES, HE DID DIE

But GotQuestions’ comment fails to recognize that the language of the prayer is post-deliverance: “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice” (2:2). So, if Jonah died, he prayed this particular prayer after he was resurrected, not before.

Another argument presented for Jonah having died is Jesus’ reference to the event: “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40; cf. 16:1-4 and Luke 11:29-32). Here, Jesus uses Jonah as a symbol of His own coming death and resurrection. The phrase “just as,” some argue, is emphatic enough that it should be taken to refer to Jonah truly dying, as Jesus indeed died.

NAH

Others find this last point unpersuasive. One commenter writes, “As the type for Christ's death, burial and resurrection, it does not necessitate that it exactly mimicked Christ's death. After all, Isaac was not sacrificed, and he was the type for Christ's sacrifice.”

This back-and-forth illustrates the kind of discussion surrounding the question of whether Jonah died while in the fish. Either way, God performed a miracle: He either miraculously raised Jonah to life or miraculously kept him from dying.

What do you think, and why?

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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.

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