I’m asking for prayers for my husband. He decided to take a small trip out of town with friends who drive a semi to get away from the stress of where we live. They (a married couple) got into a huge fight and now he’s currently walking home from Bow, New Hampshire which is 13.5 hours driving distance home. I have family up there but they can’t help nor would if they could. I haven’t slept all night. I did find a bus route home but I don’t have the financial backing for it.

Hello,
I'm bothered by a lack of zest for life in my own soul. Nothing feels meaningful or fulfilling. I recently had a spiritual experience but I cannot discern whether or not it was from God or if it was the Devil manipulating me. I don't see a clear purpose or direction with my life. I'm having a hard time connecting with God in prayer. Does the Bible or God speak on the topic of losing your zest/will to live?

Hello folks. As most of you guys know, I am for ethically sourced clean energy, and am really liking the newest generation of solar panels. If only the condo that I live at had panels on it. The apartment complex near my condo has a few solar panels on it though. Back in the 1970s-1980s, solar panels had a lifespan of 10-15 years. The new types of solar panels in the 21st century can last 25-30 years, compared to older generations which could only last 10-15 years. Also, the Australians developed a method in the early 2020s to recycle old solar panels and convert the silicon inside the panels into concrete, so solar panel recycling is feasible with current technologies. So, @Bradskii , can you tell me the story about how you got panels for your place? I am hoping that my condo can get panels also. As a Christian man, I want to show respect to the Earth we have.

Making concrete from old solar panels: Solar panels replace sand in concrete production
Old solar panel lifespan: How long do solar panels last 2023？ - Tongwei Co., Ltd.,
Modern solar panel lifespan: How Long Do Solar Panels Last?

For Christians: The Bible talks about protecting our Earth and not defiling creation, as said in Genesis 2, Isaiah 24 and Jeremiah 2. Big Oil and Big Coal did not get the memo, and neither did Musk*.

*Musk Private Jet emissions: What emissions? Elon Musk's private jet made more than 130 flights in 2022

Matthew 26:

27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Click to expand...

Pulpit Commentary:

The offspring of the vine is a poetical way of describing wine (cf. Deuteronomy 22:9; Isaiah 32:12, etc.). It is absurd to find in this term an argument for unalcoholic grape juice. Wine, to be wine, must undergo fermentation, and if it is not to putrefy or to become vinegar, it must develop alcohol.

Click to expand...

You can't keep grape juice from naturally fermenting into wine without refrigeration. Historically, alcoholic wine was used in the Last Supper.

What about today?

If you want to stick to historical context, you should use wine. Moreover, you would also need to use unleavened bread to be consistent. However, that is not necessary. Today, we can keep grape juice in the fridge, and some people, like me, are sensitive to alcohol. So grape juice is more suitable for more people, including kids. The important point is to understand that the drink represents the blood of Jesus.

Should we use wine or grape juice for communion?

Either is fine. For my taste, I prefer grape juice

Hello folks. My friend Adam's grandmother, Marilyn is going to pass away in the near future, as she had a stroke last week. She is a Christian (Catholic). Pray that she receives the proper palliative care and for my friend's family, that God can comfort Adam's parents and Adam himself. My friend and his parents are not very religious, but I pray that God can help Marilyn, Adam and his family through this rough moment.

Psalm 119

5 Oh, that my ways were directed
To keep Your statutes!

12 Blessed are You, O Lord!
Teach me Your statutes.

The statutes of the Lord direct us in the Way.
Like David, and as Jesus taught, we must ask!
"Teach me Your statutes."

What is a statute, and how does it differ from
a commandment, a testimony, a precept, a judgment?

Who are they in historical contrast alongside an exegetical view?

Trump To Vegas Voters: “I Don't Care About You”​

TRUMP TELLS VOTERS ‘I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU, I JUST WANT YOUR VOTE’ WHILE COMPLAINING ABOUT DANGEROUS VEGAS HEAT​

Former President Donald Trump knew the best way to rally supporters for the upcoming presidential election – by telling voters, “I don’t care about you. I just want your vote.”

Trump stood in front of a crowd of potential voters on June 9 in the sweltering and dangerous Las Vegas heat while complaining about the teleprompters that he claimed didn’t work. After going the extra mile to make sure participants had water and allowed people to carry in umbrellas, he prompted the crowd to celebrate the “breeze” created by fans. “Do you feel the breeze? I don’t want anybody going on me. We need every voter,” he said.

“I don’t care about you. I just want your vote. I don’t care.”

School officials in Florida have banned a book about book banning.

The Indian River County School Board voted to remove "Ban This Book" by Alan Gratz from its shelves in a meeting last month, overruling its own district book-review committee's decision to keep it.

The book, which had been in two Indian River County elementary schools and a middle school, was challenged by Jennifer Pippin. She's the head of the area's local chapter of Moms for Liberty, a national conservative group that has become one of the loudest advocates for removing books they deem inappropriate.

Gratz, its author, called the Indian River County decision "incredibly ironic."

"They banned the book because it talks about the books that they have banned and because it talks about book banning," he said in an interview with the USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida. "It feels like they know exactly what they're doing and they're somewhat ashamed of what they're doing and they don't want a book on the shelves that calls them out."

I was reading The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov. (Great book by the way.) In it he makes the following statement about computers determining what is good.
“What is that? Your machines tell you. Your Computaplexes. But who adjusts the machines and tells them what to weigh in the balance? The machines do not solve problems with greater insight than men do, only faster. Only faster!”

Now he wrote this back in 1955, but my question is does it still hold true? That is can the only thing computers or AI can do is solve problems faster, than people. Or do they have greater insight?

Medieval game collection – Credit: University of Tübingen / Victor Brigola

If a history professor or museum is at their very best when they help people deeply connect with the ghosts of the past, then these 1,000-year-old game pieces found in a German castle are the perfect tool for the job.

Consisting of four, flower-shaped gaming pieces, a six-sided die, and a knight chess piece—all carved of antler, the find is a treasure trove of information on pastimes in the Middle Ages.

Exquisitely preserved, the knight piece, undoubtedly the most striking discovery, carries a well-worn sheen on its upper half from fingers picking it up thousands of times to place it along its L-shaped path.

Continued below.

A Christian friend of mine divorced his wife because she was extremely disrespectful and verbal abusing him and he had christian counseling with her for years and she didn’t change so he divorced her. She never cheated and he never cheated so he did sin divorcing her. I told him that’s adultery he said he know but he had enough of her should i still remain his friend ?
Please insert scripture with my decision

2 Peter 1:

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,

through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises,

that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature,

having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

There is a common false teaching that there is nothing we can do to live a blameless life,

but to live by faith, trusting in the "finished work of the Cross". Consider today the

blatantly unscriptural nature of this teaching. We must obey the Holy Spirit for us

to "grow in grace, and the knowledge of (the intimate experience, not" knowing about")

our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Continuing with Peter in our walk in the Spirit.

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,

6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,

7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness,

and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

I find the shortsighted abound on Christian forums, laying stumbling blocks,

and challenging us with a "do nothing lest you be guilty of trying to earn salvation".

The "finished work" is a work in progress for us of the faith, and in the fellowship.

Philippians

1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,

5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,

6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work

in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,

but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,

15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault

in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ

that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly,

that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works.

These things are good and profitable to men.

2 Peter 3:

17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall

from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

https://www.salon.com/2024/06/12/donald-admits-he-still-has-a-gun-despite-felony-convictions/

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked most of a law championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) that strictly limited transgender health care for adults and banned it completely for children.

“Florida has adopted a statute and rules that ban gender-affirming care for minors even when medically appropriate,” Hinkle wrote. “The ban is unconstitutional.”

A growing number of states have been outlawing gender-transition care for minors. But Florida’s law was the first to limit care for adults.

DeSantis’s press secretary Jeremy Redfern said the state will appeal the decision.

In his decision, Hinkle, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, cited statements from DeSantis and Republican legislators about “mutilating our children” but said the state presented no evidence that such surgeries have ever happened in Florida.

The judge also said the “frenzied rhetoric” from Tallahassee — including a lawmaker who “loudly referred to transgender witnesses at a committee hearing on a related bill as ‘mutants’ and ‘demons’” — was “direct evidence of that member’s animus.”

A magistrate judge at the Rocky River Municipal Court observed that Ellis seemingly became unresponsive during her hearing and ordered her to be held for a mental health evaluation, according to records obtained by Fox 8. Hagan, however, released Ellis back into the community on May 31. . .
Hagan revealed he would not have acted differently, even now, knowing that Ellis is charged with aggravated murder for the toddler’s death.

This example illustrates the difference between the woke approach to crime and the conservative (common sense) approach to crime. Conservatives insist there should be serious thought given to protecting society. When you vote for a liberal judge or politician this is what you get.

Right now America’s economic-growth rate is the envy of the world. From the end of 2019 to the end of 2023, U.S. GDP grew by 8.2 percent—nearly twice as fast as Canada’s, three times as fast as the European Union’s, and more than eight times as fast as the United Kingdom’s.

“It’s hard to think of a time when the U.S. economy has diverged so fundamentally from its peers,” Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told me. Over the past year, some of the world’s biggest economies, including those of Japan and Germany, have fallen into recession, complete with mass layoffs and angry street protests. In the U.S., however, the post-pandemic recession never arrived. The economy just keeps growing.
...
Price increases on their own, however, can’t tell us if the cost of living has gone up. What really matters is the relationship between how expensive things are and how much money people have to spend on them. As Vox’s Eric Levitz recently pointed out, prices have increased by 1,400 percent since 1947; that doesn’t mean Americans have less buying power today than at a time when a third of the country didn’t have running water and 40 percent lived in poverty. That’s largely because incomes have increased by 2,400 percent over the same stretch. If prices go up but people’s incomes go up faster, then the cost of living decreases. And that is exactly what has happened in the U.S. over the past five years.

It took some time. When inflation was at its worst, in late 2021 and 2022, prices were rising too fast for workers’ pay to keep up. Over the course of 2023, however, the rate of inflation plummeted while wages kept rising. According to calculations by the economist Arindrajit Dube, prices rose about 20 percent from the beginning of the pandemic to the end of 2023—but the median worker’s hourly wages had increased by more than 26 percent. In other words, a dollar in 2024 might not go as far as a dollar in 2019, but today the average worker has so many more dollars that they can afford a higher quality of life.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/06/us-economy-excellent/678630/

June 12, 2024:

The Dow surges 300 points and the S&P 500 hits a record high as inflation cools ​

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other stock indexes rose sharply after markets opened Wednesday, as the latest Consumer Price Index data showed inflation cooling. The CPI rose 3.3% year-over-year in May, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lower than the 3.4% expected increase.

With inflation slowing more than expected last month, investors are hopeful that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon. The inflation report was released shortly before the Fed is expected to announce its latest interest-rate decision and economic forecasts for the year. That announcement is set for 2 p.m., with Fed Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to speak at 2:30 p.m.

New World Translation, John 1:

1 In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.

Click to expand...

The above translation had little justification grammatically or theologically.

ESV:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Click to expand...

Stephanus Textus Receptus 1550:

καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος

Click to expand...

The Greek definite article is not in there. The anarthrous noun does not always imply an English indefinite article. In fact, on Biblehub, 39 versions translated as "and the Word was God"; 3 as "and God was the Word"; 0 used "a god". Translators overwhelmingly favored no indefinite article. NWT is the only exception that I know of.

What would the Greek look like if you translated John 1:1b to “and the word was a god”?

To explicitly refer to some (one) god, I would write:
καὶ ἕνας θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.

There is no indefinite article in Koine. G1520-εἷς can sometimes function similarly to an indefinite article in some contexts.

During an appearance on "MSNBC Reports" following the younger Biden's conviction on federal charges regarding him buying and owning a firearm while addicted to drugs, the legal expert praised the president for not getting in the way of his Department of Justice’s prosecution of his own son.
"You have a president of the United States who is living embodiment of the rule of law," Weissmann told MSNBC host José Díaz-Balart.

Of course he said that. Now that Hunter has been convicted our system of law must be completely fair.

article said:

Biden said in a mocking tone, "How much have you heard this phrase, ‘the blood of liberty … washes those' – give me a break."

Click to expand...

Yeah, right, Joe. That's exactly what Thomas Jefferson said. Word for word.

Come along now; we have some warm milk and cookies for you, and then it's time for your nap.

Pathetic.

My husband and I enjoy watching nature videos, and every time that I watch one of these nature videos, I am utterly amazed at God’s handiwork in how he created such a vast array of creatures on this earth and how intricately he designed each and every one of them with regard to physical appearance and personalities and habits and nature, and with regard to how they interact with the other creatures on the earth, too.

Now, many of these videos are not created by God-fearing humans, and so they give the credit to something called “mother nature,” as though nature created itself, which is impossible. But through God’s creation he reveals himself to all of humanity so that we are without excuse if we choose to reject God and to go our own way, instead. For God’s invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.

[Romans 1:18-23; cf. John 1:1-3; Genesis 1:1-31; Genesis 2:1-25]

And when I go for walks or we go for a drive, I love to look at all that God created, from the creatures on the ground, to those in the air, and to the trees standing tall with full leaves on them now, to the grass on the ground and the flowers which are blooming, etc. And I love looking at the clouds in the sky and how they form different shapes, and I love sunrises and sunsets and seeing a full moon on a dark night. And I see God in all of his created works, and I am amazed, and I worship God, but not his created works.

But there are people on this earth, some of them professing Christians, who serve and who worship God’s created works instead of worshiping and serving God who created all of us. And the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against those who, in all their ungodliness and unrighteousness, suppress the truth that can be known about God as seen through his created works. And they do not honor God as God, but they exchange the glory of God for the idols of this world which they create in their own minds.

And so God gives them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, because they exchange the truth about God for a lie and they worship and serve the created rather than the creator. And so they engage themselves in all sorts of evil practices, including sexual immorality, homosexuality, malice, murder, deceit, gossip, slander, disobedience, foolishness, faithlessness and heartlessness. And, though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them, but they give approval to those who practice them (see Romans 1:18-32).

But Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands, we will gain eternal life with God. For it is not those who give lip service to the Lord who have eternal life, but it is those who are doing (obeying) the will of God (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

Login to view embedded media

"Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." - Isaiah 26:20 - 27:1

Yahweh will come in judgement. That is very clear from this passage. But to His people He offers protection. That is also very clear from the first verse. When the indignation be over past, those who are His elect shall come forth from the place whence they have been hidden.

This may well be the meaning of Luke 21:36, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." But can we safely say this means the rapture, and that we will be taken up as 1 Thessalonians 4 declares?

We do have Revelation 12:14-17,
"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Some say this woman is Israel, some say the church, some say both, and some say it's Mary. It has a threefold meaning, in that Mary who is a daughter of Israel brings forth a man child, who is Jesus. But from there on it is Israel specifically, and by extension the body of Christ, "the remnant of her seed" who are blessed with faithful Abraham, "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:21) Point I'd like to bring out here is that these are all protected upon earth, ie: "and the earth helped the woman," and it does not indicate a snatching away here at this point.

Now when the verse says the earth shall no more cover her slain, we see this also in Revelation 14:19-20, "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."

And in 19:17-21,
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."

In Isaiah 27:1 we see the LORD has a sore, and great, and strong sword, with which He punishes the serpent that is in the sea. Here I believe He is speaking not of a sea monster or physical reptilian creature, but of the great dragon, the same as is mentioned in Revelation 12:9, "the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

That word for sore there means hard, severe, fierce; and it is also a great sword, and a strong sword. We see Jesus in Revelation 19:15, "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."

With this sword Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of Yahweh, shall smite the serpent, the old serpent, the devil; and He shall smite the nations, and then, " many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." (Daniel 12:2-3)

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Prior to the second anniversary of a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its prior abortion precedent, pro-life activists said much of their work remains to be done.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, told OSV News in a June 10 interview “we realized quickly we have a challenge on our hands,” pointing to losses at the ballot box after the Dobbs ruling, with more such contests on the horizon.

“So after two years, there is still reason to celebrate because we know God’s grace is more powerful than all this, but also, we have to embrace the challenge that faces us,” he said.

The impact of the Dobbs decision​

The Supreme Court issued its historic decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022, a little over a month after Politico published a leaked draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion in the case. The leak caused a public firestorm before the court issued its official ruling and is seen as the most significant breach of the court’s confidentiality in its history.

The Dobbs case involved a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks, in which the state directly challenged the high court’s previous abortion-related precedents in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). The Supreme Court ultimately overturned its own prior rulings, undoing nearly a half-century of its own precedent on the issue and returning it to legislatures.

While Roe and its ensuing precedents were in place, states were generally barred from restricting abortion prior to viability, or the point at which a child could survive outside the womb. When Roewas issued in 1973, fetal viability was considered to be 28 weeks gestation, but current estimates are generally considered to be 23-24 weeks, with some estimates as low as 22 weeks as medical technology continues to improve. After the Dobbs ruling, states across the country quickly moved to either restrict or expand access to abortion.

While supporters often described Roe as settled law, opponents argued the court in 1973 improperly legalized abortion nationwide, a matter opponents said should have been left to legislators in Congress or state governments. Many, including the Catholic Church, opposed the ruling on moral grounds that the practice takes the life of an unborn child. Opponents of the ruling challenged it for decades, both in courts and in the public square, such as the national March for Life held annually in Washington.

Pro-life movement’s efforts and public response​

Continued below.

Exodus 21:

32 If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

Click to expand...

A slave was worth 30 shekels of silver.

Matthew 26:

14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.

Click to expand...

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges:

Thirty shekels was the price of a slave (Exodus 21:32); a fact which gives force to our Lord’s words, Matthew 20:28, “The Son of man came … to minister (to be a slave), and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Click to expand...

Barnes:

Thirty pieces of silver - Mark and Luke do not mention the sum. They say that they promised him "money" - in the original, "silver." In Matthew, in the original, it is thirty "silvers, or silverlings." This was the price "of a slave" (see Exodus 21:32)

Click to expand...

Pulpit Commentary:

This was the legal price of a slave gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32), and must have been considered by the traitor but a poor reward for his crime. He found the rulers as covetous as himself, and disposed to treat both him and his Master with the utmost contempt. Christ had taken upon him the form of a bondservant, and was here reckoned as such. The transaction had been typically shadowed forth when another Judas sold his brother Joseph for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:27, 28);

Click to expand...

Why was Judas equated with an "Ox" by this very passage?

I don't think Judas = ox here. That would be straining the symbolism.