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Belgian lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to extend the country’s euthanasia law to children under 18.

The 86-44 vote Thursday in the House of Representatives, with 12 abstentions, followed approval by the Senate last December.

The law empowers children with terminal ailments who are in great pain to request to be put to death if their parents agree and a psychiatrist or psychologist find they are conscious of what their choice signifies. The law was opposed by some Belgian pediatricians and the country’s leading Roman Catholic cleric.

While Comcast says it will divest three million of TWC’s roughly 11 million subscribers, the merged company will still have about 30 million video subscribers, far ahead of the next biggest pay-TV operator, DirecTV which has about 20 million. It will have a big presence in the northeastern U.S., in particular, including in the New York area where TWC is a major cable provider now. Perhaps more important, Comcast will be by far the dominant provider of broadband services, which DirecTV doesn’t offer. In early December, Aji Pai, a Republican commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, said the Obama administration would be unlikely to approve a Comcast-TWC merger, given its track record of reviewing big mergers.

Regardless of the regulatory outcome, the deal is likely to reinforce a consolidation trend. Liberty and Charter executives have argued that greater scale would better enable cable operators to compete by, for instance, being able to work together on programming ventures. Mr. Malone has said cable operators, because they don’t operate nationally, can’t buy programming on a national basis and often lack the scale in invest in research and technology.

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The Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) has said it was deeply worried by the raging conflicts in the Central African Republic and other troubled countries in Africa.

Primate Bernard Ntahoturi, the CAPA’s Chairman, who is also Anglican Archbishop of Burundi, spoke when he led other African Primates on a courtesy visit to Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State.

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One of Africa’s biggest Christian movements, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, is spreading across the US.

The Pentecostal movement started in Nigeria and opened its first American parish in Detroit in 1992.

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The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and schools closed, flights were grounded and thousands of people were without power Wednesday as the second ice storm in two weeks slammed the Charleston area.

It could be another tough day in the tri-county area. Light freezing rain and trace amounts of ice accumulation were expected overnight and into early morning.

“That will impact travel Thursday morning,” said Blair Holloway, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Charleston.

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God is indeed an overwhelming mystery. His severity cannot be separated from his mighty love. Although the prophets speak constantly of Yahweh’s anger and judgment, they also picture him as a loving and faithful husband. After Israel’s affairs, after the divorce, after the fragmentation of the covenantal relationship, Yahweh’s love wins out. Not because he ceases to be severe, but because his severity is an aspect of his unending love for and faithfulness to his people, despite our sinfulness. “Having loved his own … he loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

As long as we see the God of the Old Testament as none other than the one Christians call Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then Marcion’s voice will remain where it belongs””buried in the second century.

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Set us free, O heavenly Father, from every bond of prejudice and fear: that, honoring the steadfast courage of thy servants Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, we may show forth in our lives the reconciling love and true freedom of the children of God, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

O God, who hast sown in our hearts the precious seed of thy truth: Grant us to nourish it by meditation, prayer and obedience, that it may not only take root, but also bring forth fruit unto holiness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

–James Ferguson

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

–Romans 12:9-21

The winter storm has brought a round of massive power outages to Dorchester County.

There were more than 28,000 power outages in Dorchester County as of Noon, according to the South Carolina Electric & Gas website.

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