The Cyberground Railroad

The Cyberground Railroad 

The Cyberground Railroad for Life and Liberty is a Web site that supports life and liberty and opposes slavery, aborticide (induced abortion), and infanticide. In 2007 antislavery advocates celebrated the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire (see Wilberforce Forum. Yet today an estimated 27 million people worldwide are still being held in bondage.

In American history, the Underground Railroad was a system to help slaves escape from slavery before the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863. The Cyberground Railroad is dedicated to using the Internet to promote freedom from slavery in all its modern forms and to share thoughts on the sanctity of human life. The main topics are as follows:

Abolitionist links

Here are some links that pertain to 21st century efforts to abolish slavery and aborticide (abortion):

Life and liberty

Life and liberty were major concepts in the American Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776. The Declaration began as follows:

When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed....

Literal, physical slavery

Slavery has been outlawed in most of the world. The United States and Great Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807. The Britsh Parliament passed the Bill for the Abolition of Slavery in 1833, which brought slavery in England to its final end. Amendment XIII to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1865, abolished the institution of slavery in the United States.

However, slavery still exists today in some parts of the world, such as Sudan and Mauritania. Slavery also exists in the form of sex trafficking. For an eye-opening view of slavery today, visit the following Web sites:

On Nov. 1, 2005, President George W. Bush moved to extend U.S. sanctions against Sudan. The Sudanese government has a long record of human rights abuses--especially against Christians and animists in the East African nation's southern half. If the President had not acted, the sanctions would have expired that day. U.S. sanctions have been in effect against Sudan since 1997.

Legislation to respond to the slavery and genocide in Sudan is was introduced previously in Congress as H.R. 5531. It is called the Sudan Peace Act, and it was signed into law on Oct. 21, 2002 by President Bush. The Act had passed the U.S. House of Representatives on October 7, by a vote of 359-8. The Senate passed the same language by unanimous consent on October 9. The Act does the following things:

  • Seeks to facilitate a comprehensive solution to the war in Sudan based on the Declaration of Principles of July 20, 1994, and the Machakos Protocol of July 2002.
  • Commends the efforts of the President's Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan, Senator Danforth, and his team.
  • Calls for multilateralization of economic and diplomatic tools to compel Sudan to enter into a good faith peace process, support for democratic development in areas of Sudan outside government control, continued support for people-to-people reconciliation in non-government-controlled areas, strengthening of humanitarian relief mechanisms, and multilateral cooperation toward these ends.
  • Condemns violations of human rights on all sides of the conflict, the government's human rights record, the slave trade, government use of militia and other forces to support slave raiding, and aerial bombardment of civilian targets.

For more information about the Sudan Peace Act, click on this link. For more information about international religious freedom, see International Religious Freedom.

Spiritual slavery

Jesus Christ said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin" (John 8:32,34). Christianity offers forgiveness of sin.

In his 2000/02/28 Breakpoint radio broadcast, Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson made the following comment:

Secular humanists embrace naturalism because of their belief that it frees humans from the oppression imposed by religious belief. But they've got it backwards. It is naturalism that debases us. Naturalism inevitably leads to the conclusion that there is nothing special about being human. Naturalism enslaves us by making us the prisoners of our biochemistry. Where's the dignity in that?

In contrast, the biblical view frees us from the limitations of biochemistry. Human beings may have inclinations towards certain kinds of behavior, but they don't have to obey those inclinations.

Following are some Christian Web sites:

Home pages for various Christian ministries

Home pages for various church denominations

Home pages for local church congregations

Other Christian Web sites

Nonprofit and educational organizations upholding Christian values

The specialness of human life

Do you believe in the sanctity of human life? Is the human mind qualitatively different from animal brain? Biologically we humans have much in common with other forms of life. However, humans have certain characteristics that so far as we know are uniquely human. The following table lists four uniquely characteristics as described by Stephen Covey in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Hank Hanegraaff in Christianity in Crisis:

Uniquely human traits
Covey's listHanegraaff's list
independent willspirituality
self-awareness personality
imaginationrationality
conscience morality

What are some of the things that are done only by the human species, Homo sapiens?

  • Using language*
  • Learning algebra and calculus
  • Conducting worship services and funerals**
  • Teaching one's offspring to read and write
  • Designing and building tools, tapestry, and musical instruments
  • And, although monkey business is to be found on the Internet, so far as I know, all Web sites are created by people!

* "The use of language is still seen by linguists as a peculiarly human activity. We often use the word language to refer to the limited stock of movements or utterances by which some animals communicate a limited number of messages, but in doing so we recognize that we are speaking of something different in kind from our own language." (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate dictionary, Tenth Edition, ©1998, page 23a).

** "No creature other than man has ever been observed building a chapel." (Know What You Believe: A Practical Discussion of the Fundamentals of the Christian Faith by Paul E. Little, Revised Edition including quotations from the New International Version; published by Chariot Victor Publishing, a division of Cook Communications; 1997 printing ©1987 by SP Publications, Inc.; page 63).

The DaVinci Code

Have you read The Da Vinci Code? Have you seen the movie? Would you like to know where to draw the line between fact and fiction? You can get answers from the following sources:

Sept. 11 horror and heroism, miracles and meditations

This section contains links to news stories, feature stories, and commentary, two passages from the New Testament of the Bible, a passage from the Old Testament, and a link to a searchable online Bible.

News stories, feature stories, and commentary

The following links pertain to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on America:

New Testament: "Unless you repent ..." and "Blessed are ..."

The following passage from verses 1-5 of Chapter 13 of the Gospel of Luke in the New King James Version (NKJV), refers to a conversation Jesus had with His disciples:

  1. There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
  2. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things?
  3. "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
  4. "Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
  5. "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

The following passage is from verses 6-9 of Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew (NKJV) and is part of what are called The Beatitudes, a portion of some teachings that Jesus Christ gave His disciples:

  6.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
  7.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
  8.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
  9.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.

Old Testament: The demise of an evil-doer

The following passage is from Verses 1-22 of 2 Samuel 20 in the New King James Version:

1.
And there happened to be there a rebel, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet, and said:
"We have no part in David,
Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse;
Every man to his tents, O Israel!"
2.
So every man of Israel deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king.
...
4.
And the king said to Amasa, "Assemble the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself."
5.
So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah. But he delayed longer than the set time which David had appointed him.
6.
And David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he find for himself fortified cities, and escape us."
7.
So Joab's men, with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, went out after him. And they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
...
14
And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maachah and all the Berites. So they were gathered together and also went after Sheba.
15.
Then they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; and they cast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart. And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.
16.
Then a wise woman cried out from the city, "Hear, Hear! Please say to Joab, 'Come nearby, that I may speak with you.'"
17.
When he had come near to her, the woman said, "Are you Joab?" He answered, "I am." Then she said to him, "Hear the words of your maidservant." And he answered, "I am listening."
18.
So she spoke, saying, "They used to talk in former times, saying, 'They shall surely seek guidance at Abel,' and so they would end disputes.
19.
I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?"
20.
And Joab answered and said, "Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy!
21.
"That is not so. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city." So the woman said to Joab, "Watch, his head will be thrown to you over the wall."
22.
Then the woman in her wisdom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.

Online Bible

For a searchable online copy of the Holy Bible in several translations, see Bible Study Tools.

A Proverb for Today

If you are not an American, substitute your favorite flag.

A Christmas message

For a Christmas message for any time of year, click here.

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