Despite their own findings, the anti-abstinence-only liberals who authored the study maintain that kids who take abstinence pledges should be sexualized.
-- From "Study Critical of Virginity Pledges Reveals that More Religious Teens Embrace Abstinence" by Penny Starr, CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer 12/31/08
A study in the January issue of Pediatrics that is critical of virginity pledges nonetheless reveals that teens who are more religious have their first sexual encounter at the average age of 21, or four years later than teens who are not as religious.
The author of the study, Janice Rosenbaum, a post doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told CNSNews.com that her analysis shows that among her sample of 934 teens with strong religious backgrounds, both the pledgers and non-pledgers became sexually active at about 21 on average. That is four years later than teens who are not as religious. She said religious beliefs play a role in teens abstaining from sex.
“One year before pledging, pledgers are more religious, less sexually experienced, and hold more negative attitudes about sex and birth control than adolescents who do not go on to take a virginity pledge,” Rosenbaum writes in Pediatrics. “Religious adolescents delay sexual initiation, so virginity pledgers’ prepledge religiosity could induce abstinence without the pledge.”
“It is true that this profile of teenagers, these 934 teenagers that I look at are more conservative in their sexual behavior,” Rosenbaum said.
Religious teens “are more restrained in the sexual choices and that’s because of their social context,” said Rosenbaum. “They are less sexually experienced to begin with. Their friends are engaging in less risk behavior. Their parents also go to church and they are also choosing to go to church and to stay affiliated with evangelical Christianity.”
Nonetheless, Rosenbaum believes her study shows that “abstinence promotion programs” are not a wise policy for the government to advance. “Clinicians should provide birth control information to all adolescents, especially abstinence-only sex education participants.”
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Law to Force Church to Allow Same-sex Ceremony
"Whenever a right is granted to same-sex unions, then a right is taken from religious liberty and freedom of speech. Same-sex unions pose a serious threat to freedom of conscience and free exercise of religion."
-- From "Lesbians in fight with Christian church" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 12/30/08
A church organization has been caught up in a discrimination case brought by two lesbians who were denied permission to rent the Christian group's facilities for a "ceremony" after the meaning of "equal" was changed by the state, according to a warning from Liberty Counsel.
The situation involves the United Methodist Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which has been accused by the government in New Jersey of discriminating against a self-described lesbian duo, Luisa Paster and Harriet Bernstein, who were denied permission to rent a church pavilion.
"The clash between same-sex unions and religious freedom has arrived, and that clash will increase," said Mathew Staver, chief of Liberty Counsel. "We've seen a pastor arrested in Sweden for preaching that homosexuality is contrary to biblical principles. When the alarm was sounded, some thought it was all hype. But when a church has to sacrifice its religious convictions in order to invite the public to use its facilities, the threat to liberty is not hype.
The church group had rejected the request because same-sex civil unions conflict with the doctrines of the United Methodist Church.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Lesbians in fight with Christian church" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 12/30/08
A church organization has been caught up in a discrimination case brought by two lesbians who were denied permission to rent the Christian group's facilities for a "ceremony" after the meaning of "equal" was changed by the state, according to a warning from Liberty Counsel.
The situation involves the United Methodist Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which has been accused by the government in New Jersey of discriminating against a self-described lesbian duo, Luisa Paster and Harriet Bernstein, who were denied permission to rent a church pavilion.
"The clash between same-sex unions and religious freedom has arrived, and that clash will increase," said Mathew Staver, chief of Liberty Counsel. "We've seen a pastor arrested in Sweden for preaching that homosexuality is contrary to biblical principles. When the alarm was sounded, some thought it was all hype. But when a church has to sacrifice its religious convictions in order to invite the public to use its facilities, the threat to liberty is not hype.
The church group had rejected the request because same-sex civil unions conflict with the doctrines of the United Methodist Church.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Losing Religious Liberty -- Exchanged for 'Gay Rights'
Just as in Massachusetts . . . "Californians have been shocked by the aggressiveness of radical homosexual activists who have ousted several individuals from their jobs and livelihoods based solely on their support for traditional marriage."
-- From "Voted for Prop 8? You're fired" by Drew Zahn, © 2008 WorldNetDaily 12/29/08
Protests following the passage of California's Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman, made news headlines, but the Pacific Justice Institute reports a growing number of cases where those opposed to the ballot measure have taken out their anger more quietly: by harassing – and even firing – employees who voted for it.
PJI, a non-profit legal defense organization specializing in religious freedom, claims to be representing a San Francisco woman who was fired for voting for Proposition 8, but whose name remains confidential to protect her privacy and legal case.
PJI also claims to be advising several others seeking settlements after they too were fired for supporting Proposition 8.
Kevin Snider, chief counsel for PJI, told WND of a worker at a financial company who was asked before the November election how he would vote on the issue of homosexual marriage. The employee gave an evasive answer. Following the election, the employee was asked repeatedly how he voted.
When it was learned the employee had voted in favor of Proposition 8, he was written up for discrimination, Snider reports, and fired within a couple of days.
While some employees have been fired outright, others have been harassed by fellow workers or risk losing their jobs because of protesters hounding their companies.
Advocates for homosexual marriage have even set up a website, AntiGayBlacklist.com, which lists hundreds of California residents, churches and businesses that donated money to the Proposition 8 campaign, urging sympathizers not to patronize those on the list.
"I think there's certain types of jobs where there's more hostility than other places," Snider told WND. "I've had several college professors report harassment by their colleagues."
In one instance, Snider said, a professor took copies of nasty emails from his colleagues over his support of Prop. 8 to the lawyers in the college's human resources department. The professor alleged the emails clearly constituted hate speech, but his appeal was ignored.
One report included a University of California student whose car was vandalized and who was beaten over her support of Prop. 8.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Voted for Prop 8? You're fired" by Drew Zahn, © 2008 WorldNetDaily 12/29/08
Protests following the passage of California's Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman, made news headlines, but the Pacific Justice Institute reports a growing number of cases where those opposed to the ballot measure have taken out their anger more quietly: by harassing – and even firing – employees who voted for it.
PJI, a non-profit legal defense organization specializing in religious freedom, claims to be representing a San Francisco woman who was fired for voting for Proposition 8, but whose name remains confidential to protect her privacy and legal case.
PJI also claims to be advising several others seeking settlements after they too were fired for supporting Proposition 8.
Kevin Snider, chief counsel for PJI, told WND of a worker at a financial company who was asked before the November election how he would vote on the issue of homosexual marriage. The employee gave an evasive answer. Following the election, the employee was asked repeatedly how he voted.
When it was learned the employee had voted in favor of Proposition 8, he was written up for discrimination, Snider reports, and fired within a couple of days.
While some employees have been fired outright, others have been harassed by fellow workers or risk losing their jobs because of protesters hounding their companies.
Advocates for homosexual marriage have even set up a website, AntiGayBlacklist.com, which lists hundreds of California residents, churches and businesses that donated money to the Proposition 8 campaign, urging sympathizers not to patronize those on the list.
"I think there's certain types of jobs where there's more hostility than other places," Snider told WND. "I've had several college professors report harassment by their colleagues."
In one instance, Snider said, a professor took copies of nasty emails from his colleagues over his support of Prop. 8 to the lawyers in the college's human resources department. The professor alleged the emails clearly constituted hate speech, but his appeal was ignored.
One report included a University of California student whose car was vandalized and who was beaten over her support of Prop. 8.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Conservative Canadians Want Hate Speech Law Repealed
Will Canadians vote for candidates who will try to repack Pandora's box, such that Christians can regain their freedom of speech?
-- From "Canadians fight for free speech" by Chad Groening, OneNewsNow 12/26/2008
At its recent convention in Winnipeg, the Conservative Party approved Resolution P-203, which would repeal Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, the "hate speech" provision. Brian Rushfeldt, the executive director of the Canada Family Action Coalition, says repeal of Section 13 is long overdue.
"Section 13 is the one that allows, basically, Human Rights Commission people to persecute somebody for freedom of speech on an issue that the commission feels is either promoting hate or causing discrimination against a particular individual," he explains.
There is little chance, Rushfeldt says, that Section 13 can be repealed with the current makeup of Parliament.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Canadians fight for free speech" by Chad Groening, OneNewsNow 12/26/2008
At its recent convention in Winnipeg, the Conservative Party approved Resolution P-203, which would repeal Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, the "hate speech" provision. Brian Rushfeldt, the executive director of the Canada Family Action Coalition, says repeal of Section 13 is long overdue.
"Section 13 is the one that allows, basically, Human Rights Commission people to persecute somebody for freedom of speech on an issue that the commission feels is either promoting hate or causing discrimination against a particular individual," he explains.
There is little chance, Rushfeldt says, that Section 13 can be repealed with the current makeup of Parliament.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Federal Judge Foists New York Homosexual Adoption onto Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS — A same-sex couple in California has won a federal court ruling that their adopted son's Louisiana birth certificate must bear the names of both adoptive fathers.
-- From "Judge: 2 adoptive dads can be named on birth certificate" by Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press 12/27/08
In his ruling Monday, [U.S. District Judge Jay] Zainey said Louisiana's Office of Vital Records must give full faith and credit to the New York State court in which Adar and Smith adopted the boy, he ruled Monday. The office had refused to issue a birth certificate listing both as the boy's legal parents.
[The couple's attorney, Kenneth D.] Upton, of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. of Dallas, said it is the fourth case of its kind that he knows of. Cases in Oklahoma, Virginia and Mississippi also were decided in the parents' favor — the Mississippi case decided at trial about a month ago, he said.
Refusing to name both fathers on the birth certificate "singles out unmarried same-sex couples and their adoptive children for unequal treatment for the improper purpose of making them unequal to everyone else," said the lawsuit filed by Upton and Regina O. Matthews of New Orleans.
Louisiana law does not let two unmarried people adopt a child together, regardless of sex, wrote Carol L. Haynes, representing the state health department and registrar Darlene W. Smith.
Earlier this month, New York state officials decided to let married same-sex couples list both their names on their children's birth certificates.
Upton said most states have not had problems listing both same-sex parents on an adopted child's amended birth certificate. The difficulties crop up in states that don't allow adoption by same-sex couples, he said, and some registrars question whether a man's name should be in the space labeled "Mother," or a woman's name listed as "Father."
"A lot of states have recently started changing their form so it says 'Parent 1' and 'Parent 2,' which kind of resolves the problem," Upton said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Judge: 2 adoptive dads can be named on birth certificate" by Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press 12/27/08
In his ruling Monday, [U.S. District Judge Jay] Zainey said Louisiana's Office of Vital Records must give full faith and credit to the New York State court in which Adar and Smith adopted the boy, he ruled Monday. The office had refused to issue a birth certificate listing both as the boy's legal parents.
[The couple's attorney, Kenneth D.] Upton, of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. of Dallas, said it is the fourth case of its kind that he knows of. Cases in Oklahoma, Virginia and Mississippi also were decided in the parents' favor — the Mississippi case decided at trial about a month ago, he said.
Refusing to name both fathers on the birth certificate "singles out unmarried same-sex couples and their adoptive children for unequal treatment for the improper purpose of making them unequal to everyone else," said the lawsuit filed by Upton and Regina O. Matthews of New Orleans.
Louisiana law does not let two unmarried people adopt a child together, regardless of sex, wrote Carol L. Haynes, representing the state health department and registrar Darlene W. Smith.
Earlier this month, New York state officials decided to let married same-sex couples list both their names on their children's birth certificates.
Upton said most states have not had problems listing both same-sex parents on an adopted child's amended birth certificate. The difficulties crop up in states that don't allow adoption by same-sex couples, he said, and some registrars question whether a man's name should be in the space labeled "Mother," or a woman's name listed as "Father."
"A lot of states have recently started changing their form so it says 'Parent 1' and 'Parent 2,' which kind of resolves the problem," Upton said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Homosexual Advocates Capture Barely-post-pubescent Students in Wisconsin
The Milwaukee Public School System will expand the services provided by its gay-friendly high school and apparently become the nation's first school system to create a gay-friendly middle school.
-- From "Milwaukee to Form Gay-Friendly Middle School" by Jessica Calefati, U.S. News Staff 12/17/08
Milwaukee's response to gay-friendly schools has been much different from other cities'. In Chicago, community leaders' concerns about creating a gay-friendly high school stalled plans to bring such a proposal before the city's school board. In New York City, protesters greeted students of the gay-friendly Harvey Milk High School in Manhattan's East Village on its first day of classes five years ago. But in Milwaukee, the Alliance School's birth as a high school and expansion to serve middle school students passed with no real opposition. Calls from social service organizations and parents urging [lead teacher Tina] Owen to create the middle school more quickly are the only responses she has received from the community, Owen said.
Before helping to create the Alliance School four years ago, Owen worked in another Milwaukee high school and advised its Gay Straight Alliance club.
Marty Lexmond, the director of school innovation for Milwaukee Public Schools, said the need for a gay-friendly middle school is even greater today because adolescents are publicly identifying their sexuality as early as middle school.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Milwaukee to Form Gay-Friendly Middle School" by Jessica Calefati, U.S. News Staff 12/17/08
Milwaukee's response to gay-friendly schools has been much different from other cities'. In Chicago, community leaders' concerns about creating a gay-friendly high school stalled plans to bring such a proposal before the city's school board. In New York City, protesters greeted students of the gay-friendly Harvey Milk High School in Manhattan's East Village on its first day of classes five years ago. But in Milwaukee, the Alliance School's birth as a high school and expansion to serve middle school students passed with no real opposition. Calls from social service organizations and parents urging [lead teacher Tina] Owen to create the middle school more quickly are the only responses she has received from the community, Owen said.
Before helping to create the Alliance School four years ago, Owen worked in another Milwaukee high school and advised its Gay Straight Alliance club.
Marty Lexmond, the director of school innovation for Milwaukee Public Schools, said the need for a gay-friendly middle school is even greater today because adolescents are publicly identifying their sexuality as early as middle school.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Pope Benedict Criticizes Homosexual Behavior
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict said Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.
-- From "Pope Benedict criticizes homosexual behavior" Reuters 12/22/08
The Church "should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed," the pontiff said in a holiday address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration.
"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."
The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound."
The pope said humanity needed to "listen to the language of creation" to understand the intended roles of man and woman. He compared behavior beyond traditional heterosexual relations as "a destruction of God's work."
He also defended the Church's right to "speak of human nature as man and woman, and ask that this order of creation be respected."
_________________________
The Guardian has logged the expected response from the Christophobic crowd.
-- From "Pope Benedict criticizes homosexual behavior" Reuters 12/22/08
The Church "should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed," the pontiff said in a holiday address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration.
"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."
The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound."
The pope said humanity needed to "listen to the language of creation" to understand the intended roles of man and woman. He compared behavior beyond traditional heterosexual relations as "a destruction of God's work."
He also defended the Church's right to "speak of human nature as man and woman, and ask that this order of creation be respected."
_________________________
The Guardian has logged the expected response from the Christophobic crowd.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
While Media Preaches Gay-Agenda Bible, Pastors Silent
"Should believers work to prevent government from foisting the homosexualist agenda on the population? Yes, very definitely so. The withholding of governmental incentives for homosexual practice is as much a civil issue as society's prohibition of incest and polygamy (even of an adult, consensual sort)." -- Prof. Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon
Are Americans hearing the Truth via Christian witness (from the church to the culture), or have Christians abandoned the lost to be led astray by the loudest voice?
Concerning the Newsweek cover story "Our Mutual Joy: Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side."
-- From "Newsweek's Heresy" by Laurie Higgins, DSA Director -Illinois Family Institute 12/9/08
I suppose Illinois Family Institute and numerous other pro-family organizations could respond to this heresy, but why should we when there are scores of church leaders and biblical scholars far better suited to the task than we are? Why are they not correcting the errors in exegesis and logic that permeate this article and will likely prove persuasive to not only the unchurched but the Body of Christ also? Why do we so rarely read editorials in our local press and national media from orthodox biblical scholars? Is it because they submit op-ed pieces that are summarily rejected, or do they simply not bother to submit them? Who better to correct the misinformation or disinformation being propagated at every cultural turn and in every cultural context than those whose vocation is studying Scripture?
An urgent plea to church leaders and theologians should go forth. Church leaders and theologians should be asked by pro-family organizations and Christians to respond to this article in their local press outlets and in major news publications. Orthodox scholars should flood media outlets with responses to this outrageous piece of sophistry. . . . These orthodox theologians and church leaders should then post the letters they send to the press on their church websites and/or personal blogs.
. . . we need an army of church leaders and theologians to leave their pulpits and ivory towers for just a moment and take their wisdom and knowledge to the culture.
From "Turning the Bible on its Head -- Newsweek Goes for Gay Marriage" by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. 12/8/08
The national news media are collectively embarrassed by the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Gay rights activists are publicly calling on the mainstream media to offer support for gay marriage, arguing that the media let them down in November. It appears that Newsweek intends to do its part to press for same-sex marriage. Many observers believe that the main obstacle to this agenda is a resolute opposition grounded in Christian conviction. Newsweek clearly intends to reduce that opposition.
From "More than 'Mutual Joy': Lisa Miller of Newsweek against Scripture and Jesus" by Prof. Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon 12/10/08
Religious proponents of gay marriage routinely ignore or twist the major arguments in Scripture and philosophy against homosexual practice. The cover story by Religion Editor Lisa Miller in the Dec. 15, 2008 issue of Newsweek, wholeheartedly endorsed by Managing Editor Jon Meacham, is a perfect case in point.
Miller’s strategy is to argue three things: first, that the image of marriage in Scripture is so alien to anything that would be acceptable to us today that we should run as fast as we can from any appeal to Scripture against “gay marriage”; second, that Scripture has little if anything to say against caring homosexual relationships; and, third, that Scripture contains “universal truths” (concerning “what the Bible teaches about love” and family) that are serviceable for promoting “gay marriage.” In a statement that can only be regarded as delusional in the extreme, Miller arrogantly declares as if she were some sort of expert on the subject: “Scripture gives us no good reason why gays and lesbians should not be (civilly and religiously) married—and a number of excellent reasons why they should.”
To arrive at her ideological objective Miller makes a number of bad moves. She exaggerates discontinuity and downplays continuity between marriage values in Scripture and our own values. . . She engages in a distorted form of analogical reasoning that elevates distant analogies like slavery and haircuts over close analogies, with far more points of correspondence, like adult-committed incest. She shows little or no understanding of the historical and literary contexts of the texts that she treats. She ignores just about every major argument against the positions that she espouses. And she extrapolates, from certain “universal truths” in Scripture, illogical conclusions that would have appalled the scriptural authors, like assuming that generic love is a sufficient prerequisite for sexual relationships.
Lisa Miller’s article is so poorly researched and so badly (and arrogantly) argued that the editors of Newsweek should be ashamed of themselves for publishing it. But they are not ashamed.
The question must be asked: What is it with the “elite” newspapers and newsmagazines over the past decade? Are they so obsessed with promoting the homosexualist agenda that they have now given up even a pretense to objectivity, balanced research, and good sense? Do they care nothing for destroying their reputation, built up over many years, as credible sources for news and commentary? These news sources are more and more resembling a homosexualist Pravda—a different agenda but the same style of propaganda “news” reporting that would make the old Kremlin leadership proud.
Are Americans hearing the Truth via Christian witness (from the church to the culture), or have Christians abandoned the lost to be led astray by the loudest voice?
Concerning the Newsweek cover story "Our Mutual Joy: Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side."
-- From "Newsweek's Heresy" by Laurie Higgins, DSA Director -Illinois Family Institute 12/9/08
I suppose Illinois Family Institute and numerous other pro-family organizations could respond to this heresy, but why should we when there are scores of church leaders and biblical scholars far better suited to the task than we are? Why are they not correcting the errors in exegesis and logic that permeate this article and will likely prove persuasive to not only the unchurched but the Body of Christ also? Why do we so rarely read editorials in our local press and national media from orthodox biblical scholars? Is it because they submit op-ed pieces that are summarily rejected, or do they simply not bother to submit them? Who better to correct the misinformation or disinformation being propagated at every cultural turn and in every cultural context than those whose vocation is studying Scripture?
An urgent plea to church leaders and theologians should go forth. Church leaders and theologians should be asked by pro-family organizations and Christians to respond to this article in their local press outlets and in major news publications. Orthodox scholars should flood media outlets with responses to this outrageous piece of sophistry. . . . These orthodox theologians and church leaders should then post the letters they send to the press on their church websites and/or personal blogs.
. . . we need an army of church leaders and theologians to leave their pulpits and ivory towers for just a moment and take their wisdom and knowledge to the culture.
From "Turning the Bible on its Head -- Newsweek Goes for Gay Marriage" by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. 12/8/08
The national news media are collectively embarrassed by the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Gay rights activists are publicly calling on the mainstream media to offer support for gay marriage, arguing that the media let them down in November. It appears that Newsweek intends to do its part to press for same-sex marriage. Many observers believe that the main obstacle to this agenda is a resolute opposition grounded in Christian conviction. Newsweek clearly intends to reduce that opposition.
From "More than 'Mutual Joy': Lisa Miller of Newsweek against Scripture and Jesus" by Prof. Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon 12/10/08
Religious proponents of gay marriage routinely ignore or twist the major arguments in Scripture and philosophy against homosexual practice. The cover story by Religion Editor Lisa Miller in the Dec. 15, 2008 issue of Newsweek, wholeheartedly endorsed by Managing Editor Jon Meacham, is a perfect case in point.
Miller’s strategy is to argue three things: first, that the image of marriage in Scripture is so alien to anything that would be acceptable to us today that we should run as fast as we can from any appeal to Scripture against “gay marriage”; second, that Scripture has little if anything to say against caring homosexual relationships; and, third, that Scripture contains “universal truths” (concerning “what the Bible teaches about love” and family) that are serviceable for promoting “gay marriage.” In a statement that can only be regarded as delusional in the extreme, Miller arrogantly declares as if she were some sort of expert on the subject: “Scripture gives us no good reason why gays and lesbians should not be (civilly and religiously) married—and a number of excellent reasons why they should.”
To arrive at her ideological objective Miller makes a number of bad moves. She exaggerates discontinuity and downplays continuity between marriage values in Scripture and our own values. . . She engages in a distorted form of analogical reasoning that elevates distant analogies like slavery and haircuts over close analogies, with far more points of correspondence, like adult-committed incest. She shows little or no understanding of the historical and literary contexts of the texts that she treats. She ignores just about every major argument against the positions that she espouses. And she extrapolates, from certain “universal truths” in Scripture, illogical conclusions that would have appalled the scriptural authors, like assuming that generic love is a sufficient prerequisite for sexual relationships.
Lisa Miller’s article is so poorly researched and so badly (and arrogantly) argued that the editors of Newsweek should be ashamed of themselves for publishing it. But they are not ashamed.
The question must be asked: What is it with the “elite” newspapers and newsmagazines over the past decade? Are they so obsessed with promoting the homosexualist agenda that they have now given up even a pretense to objectivity, balanced research, and good sense? Do they care nothing for destroying their reputation, built up over many years, as credible sources for news and commentary? These news sources are more and more resembling a homosexualist Pravda—a different agenda but the same style of propaganda “news” reporting that would make the old Kremlin leadership proud.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
The Demise of Family Gets Complicated
In Tennessee, a divorced woman with custody of her child is restricted, by the court, from having any lover stay the night -- in this case, a lesbian
-- From "Divorced Tenn. mother appeals night ban on partner" Associate Press 12/24/08
A same-sex couple is asking the Tennessee Court of Appeals to lift a judge's restriction in a child custody agreement that prevents the divorced mother's partner of nine years from staying overnight.
The Tennessean reports The American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief Tuesday with the Court of Appeals in Jackson on behalf of Angel Chandler, a divorced mother with two kids.
"This decision has been disruptive to our family," Chandler said. "We lived together in a stable, functioning family, and this was rather shocking to all of us. This is about the person we choose to be with. The judge decided to interfere, and it's had a very negative affect in our lives."
ACLU spokesman Paul Cates said the clause primarily affects lesbians and gays with children because same-sex civil unions are not recognized in Tennessee. Heterosexual couples can circumvent the [restriction] by getting married, Cates said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Divorced Tenn. mother appeals night ban on partner" Associate Press 12/24/08
A same-sex couple is asking the Tennessee Court of Appeals to lift a judge's restriction in a child custody agreement that prevents the divorced mother's partner of nine years from staying overnight.
The Tennessean reports The American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief Tuesday with the Court of Appeals in Jackson on behalf of Angel Chandler, a divorced mother with two kids.
"This decision has been disruptive to our family," Chandler said. "We lived together in a stable, functioning family, and this was rather shocking to all of us. This is about the person we choose to be with. The judge decided to interfere, and it's had a very negative affect in our lives."
ACLU spokesman Paul Cates said the clause primarily affects lesbians and gays with children because same-sex civil unions are not recognized in Tennessee. Heterosexual couples can circumvent the [restriction] by getting married, Cates said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Counter-nativity Display Now Includes Comedy
-- From "Festivus pole goes up in the Illinois Capitol, and the gripes begin" by David Mercer, Associated Press 12/25/08
SPRINGFIELD -- In the world of the TV sitcom “Seinfeld,” Festivus is a goofy, high-tension Christmas substitute dreamt up by George Costanza’s angry dad. Revelers gathered around an aluminum pole and couldn’t leave until someone pinned the head of the household to the floor.
Festivus is still good for a laugh among “Seinfeld” loyalists, even 11 years after the episode was first broadcast.
Funny, but nobody’s laughing much about the Festivus pole that popped up under the dome of the Illinois Capitol this week.
Not the people who set up the nearby nativity scene.
“I think it’s a mockery,” said Dan Zanoza, chairman of the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee.
Not the atheists who set up their own Capitol display.
“If the state’s going to create a forum for religion at this time of year, which we do not approve of, this is what’s going to happen,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
Even the 18-year-old who created the pole isn’t laughing much. . . . The high school senior and member of the American Civil Liberties Union is home in Springfield for a break from his Lake Forest boarding school.
His parents reluctantly contributed the aluminum handle from their swimming pool skimmer, and Tennenhouse and his 13-year-old bother, Matt, applied for a permit to put up a Festivus pole in the Capitol.
The state, much to Tennenhouse’s surprise, didn’t turn him down.
Nathan Maddox, senior legal adviser with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, says the state couldn’t legally deny Tennenhouse’s right to free expression.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas Celebrated by Iraqi Government
On Christmas day, a picture of Jesus floated on a balloon over Baghdad while Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Karim Khalaf declared "All Iraqis are Christian today!"
-- From "Iraqi government sponsors Christmas celebration" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 12/24/08
Ken Joseph Jr. of the Assyrian Christians told WND walking through the streets of Washington, D.C., provides a visitor with no link between the decorations and festivities of the holiday time and the birth of Jesus.
Yet in Baghdad, "the government sponsored a special Christmas celebration for the Christians. The main focus was the huge picture of Jesus," he said.
At Hot Air, Ed Morrisssey wrote, "Can anyone imagine this celebration taking place with government support in any other Arab nation — even those normally described as 'moderate'? Not only does this celebration include the standard secular imagery of Santa Claus, they actually put a picture of Jesus Christ on a hot-air balloon. That's a big deal in a Muslim nation, where they object strenuously (and often violently) to iconography. Suggesting that Iraqis are 'all Christians' on any day would get a Muslim fired or worse anyplace else in the region."
He continued, "This is what victory looks like. Iraq has settled into what Condoleezza Rice called a 'multi-confessional' society, one that has begun to promote a religious tolerance that is unlike anything seen in that region in decades, if not centuries or ever."
-- From "Christmas comes to Iraq!" by Connie MacLeod, Orlando Christianity Examiner 12/23/08
In a small park in Baghdad, children dressed as Kurds, Turkmen, Yazidis, Christians, Muslims all held hands singing "We are building Iraq!" A hot air balloon draped with a large poster of Jesus and an Iraqi flag floated high over the celebration while Santa balloons and refreshments were served to the tune of military marches. No Christmas carols yet, but maybe by next year, the band will have learned a few.
In America, we are so blessed to be able to worship and celebrate Jesus every day, yet in Baghdad, it’s a very new experience. Pray for them that God would raise up leaders, who will lead the people into relationship with our amazing Savior, Jesus!
-- From "Iraqi government sponsors Christmas celebration" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 12/24/08
Ken Joseph Jr. of the Assyrian Christians told WND walking through the streets of Washington, D.C., provides a visitor with no link between the decorations and festivities of the holiday time and the birth of Jesus.
Yet in Baghdad, "the government sponsored a special Christmas celebration for the Christians. The main focus was the huge picture of Jesus," he said.
At Hot Air, Ed Morrisssey wrote, "Can anyone imagine this celebration taking place with government support in any other Arab nation — even those normally described as 'moderate'? Not only does this celebration include the standard secular imagery of Santa Claus, they actually put a picture of Jesus Christ on a hot-air balloon. That's a big deal in a Muslim nation, where they object strenuously (and often violently) to iconography. Suggesting that Iraqis are 'all Christians' on any day would get a Muslim fired or worse anyplace else in the region."
He continued, "This is what victory looks like. Iraq has settled into what Condoleezza Rice called a 'multi-confessional' society, one that has begun to promote a religious tolerance that is unlike anything seen in that region in decades, if not centuries or ever."
-- From "Christmas comes to Iraq!" by Connie MacLeod, Orlando Christianity Examiner 12/23/08
In a small park in Baghdad, children dressed as Kurds, Turkmen, Yazidis, Christians, Muslims all held hands singing "We are building Iraq!" A hot air balloon draped with a large poster of Jesus and an Iraqi flag floated high over the celebration while Santa balloons and refreshments were served to the tune of military marches. No Christmas carols yet, but maybe by next year, the band will have learned a few.
In America, we are so blessed to be able to worship and celebrate Jesus every day, yet in Baghdad, it’s a very new experience. Pray for them that God would raise up leaders, who will lead the people into relationship with our amazing Savior, Jesus!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Restricting Christianity is NOT Neutrality
". . . a complaint from one parent resulted in the district's policy that banned the playing of all Christmas music, including simple instrumentals without words."
-- From "Religious tunes banned by school" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 12/24/08
According to the Thomas More Law Center, the public interest firm based in Ann Arbor, Mich., its lawyers have filed a brief in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia in a case challenging a New Jersey district's ban on the melodies.
The Center's brief says the ban "conveys the impermissible, government-sponsored message of disapproval of and hostility toward religion in violation of the Establishment Clause, and it deprives the students of the school district the right to receive information and ideas, an inherent corollary of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and academic freedom."
"This anti-religious policy is yet another example of the militant hostility that many public schools have towards Christians and Christmas," said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Law Center.
"If we do not stop these policies now, it is likely that they will continue to spread across our nation like an anti-Christian virus. This is an important case; it will likely decide the fate of one of our most cherished traditions," he said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Religious tunes banned by school" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 12/24/08
According to the Thomas More Law Center, the public interest firm based in Ann Arbor, Mich., its lawyers have filed a brief in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia in a case challenging a New Jersey district's ban on the melodies.
The Center's brief says the ban "conveys the impermissible, government-sponsored message of disapproval of and hostility toward religion in violation of the Establishment Clause, and it deprives the students of the school district the right to receive information and ideas, an inherent corollary of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and academic freedom."
"This anti-religious policy is yet another example of the militant hostility that many public schools have towards Christians and Christmas," said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Law Center.
"If we do not stop these policies now, it is likely that they will continue to spread across our nation like an anti-Christian virus. This is an important case; it will likely decide the fate of one of our most cherished traditions," he said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Univ. of Chicago Provides Coed Dorm Rooms
There are reportedly coed [dorm rooms] at more than 30 campuses around the country, including Wesleyan University and Oberlin College.
-- From "U of C Lets Coeds Sleep Together" NBC TV5 Chicago 12/20/08
This may shock you. Young men and women will be sleeping together at the University of Chicago. Not like that. The school known for big IQ's has a big idea to create coed dorm rooms.
Male and female students will share rooms in a pilot program that begins next month. University officials say the idea came from students. Shocker.
"In today's day and age it's not really fair to discriminate based on gender anymore," Asha Woodall, 19, a sophomore at the U. of C. to the Chicago Tribune. "Sexuality is more of a spectrum."
Teenage girls . . . Can anyone say naive?
-- From "U of C Lets Coeds Sleep Together" NBC TV5 Chicago 12/20/08
This may shock you. Young men and women will be sleeping together at the University of Chicago. Not like that. The school known for big IQ's has a big idea to create coed dorm rooms.
Male and female students will share rooms in a pilot program that begins next month. University officials say the idea came from students. Shocker.
"In today's day and age it's not really fair to discriminate based on gender anymore," Asha Woodall, 19, a sophomore at the U. of C. to the Chicago Tribune. "Sexuality is more of a spectrum."
Teenage girls . . . Can anyone say naive?
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Rick Warren Counters the Media, 'Addresses the Nation'
Rick Warren, the evangelical preacher chosen by Barack Obama to deliver the inaugural invocation, has posted a three-part video to his church's website responding to the furor that has erupted over his selection.
-- From "Rick Warren loves gays, and more" posted by Michael Paulson on The Boston Globe 12/23/08
In the video, Warren criticizes the media, and, in particular, bloggers, for fueling the controversy. And he says the criticism of him in the wake of his selection has been characterized by "a lot of hate speech" and by "Christophobia -- people who are afraid of any Christian.''
"Our nation is being destroyed by the demonization of differences," he says. "The fact that an evangelical pastor believes in keeping the historic definition of marriage -- that’s not news. The fact that the gay community would disagree with me -- that’s not news either. The real story is that a couple of different American leaders have chosen to model civility for the rest of the nation."
"Free speech has to be free speech for everybody," he says. "Some people feel today if you disagree with them that’s hate speech...I’m neither afraid of gays, nor do I hate gays. In fact, I love them, but I do disagree with some of their beliefs, and I have that constitutional right."
Over at Christianity Today, Sarah Pulliam has an interview with Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son) who praises Warren, and says, "The news is mostly all about nothing. It's a few people on the far left who feel that Obama should not have any evangelicals or Christians involved in the inauguration. Millions of Christians voted for Obama, and they have every reason to be at the table. This is his inauguration, and Obama has every right to do that. Those that are making noise have forgotten that it's not their inauguration. It's Obama's inauguration."
CNN's The Situation Room has an interview with Pat Robertson today. Robertson also praises Warren, and says, "All he's been asked to do is give an invocation. He isn't asked to endorse Obama. He's going to stand up there on the steps of the Capitol and he's going to say, God, please bless this country. And he will do that very well."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Rather than allow the media to filter Rick Warren, CLICK HERE and watch his video.
-- From "Rick Warren loves gays, and more" posted by Michael Paulson on The Boston Globe 12/23/08
In the video, Warren criticizes the media, and, in particular, bloggers, for fueling the controversy. And he says the criticism of him in the wake of his selection has been characterized by "a lot of hate speech" and by "Christophobia -- people who are afraid of any Christian.''
"Our nation is being destroyed by the demonization of differences," he says. "The fact that an evangelical pastor believes in keeping the historic definition of marriage -- that’s not news. The fact that the gay community would disagree with me -- that’s not news either. The real story is that a couple of different American leaders have chosen to model civility for the rest of the nation."
"Free speech has to be free speech for everybody," he says. "Some people feel today if you disagree with them that’s hate speech...I’m neither afraid of gays, nor do I hate gays. In fact, I love them, but I do disagree with some of their beliefs, and I have that constitutional right."
Over at Christianity Today, Sarah Pulliam has an interview with Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son) who praises Warren, and says, "The news is mostly all about nothing. It's a few people on the far left who feel that Obama should not have any evangelicals or Christians involved in the inauguration. Millions of Christians voted for Obama, and they have every reason to be at the table. This is his inauguration, and Obama has every right to do that. Those that are making noise have forgotten that it's not their inauguration. It's Obama's inauguration."
CNN's The Situation Room has an interview with Pat Robertson today. Robertson also praises Warren, and says, "All he's been asked to do is give an invocation. He isn't asked to endorse Obama. He's going to stand up there on the steps of the Capitol and he's going to say, God, please bless this country. And he will do that very well."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Rather than allow the media to filter Rick Warren, CLICK HERE and watch his video.
ECUSA Loses Church Property to Exiting Christians
Nearly a dozen conservative church congregations in Virginia have won a lawsuit in which they sought to split from the U.S. Episcopal Church in a dispute over theology and homosexuality.
UPDATE 10/6/09: U.S. Supreme Court allows California ECUSA to take property from local members
-- From "Conservatives win court case in Va. church dispute" by Matthew Barakat, Associated Press Writer 12/19/08
The final rulings came Friday from a Fairfax County judge who said the departing congregations are allowed under Virginia law to keep their church buildings and other property as they leave the Episcopal Church and realign under the authority of conservative Anglican bishops from Africa.
Several previous rulings had also gone in favor of the departing congregations. The diocese said it will appeal.
The case was decided under a Civil War-era law unique to Virginia, which stated that when a division occurs within a particular denomination, a congregation can vote to decide with which branch it wishes to affiliate.
Whether the decision in the Virginia case is indicative of what will happen nationally is doubtful. Even leaders in the departing congregations acknowledge that the judge's rulings turned on interpretation of a statute unique to Virginia.
Jim Oakes, vice chairman of the Anglican District of Virginia, an organization formed by the departing congregations said he thinks the ruling will be "encouraging to other orthodox congregations across the country."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 10/6/09: U.S. Supreme Court allows California ECUSA to take property from local members
-- From "Conservatives win court case in Va. church dispute" by Matthew Barakat, Associated Press Writer 12/19/08
The final rulings came Friday from a Fairfax County judge who said the departing congregations are allowed under Virginia law to keep their church buildings and other property as they leave the Episcopal Church and realign under the authority of conservative Anglican bishops from Africa.
Several previous rulings had also gone in favor of the departing congregations. The diocese said it will appeal.
The case was decided under a Civil War-era law unique to Virginia, which stated that when a division occurs within a particular denomination, a congregation can vote to decide with which branch it wishes to affiliate.
Whether the decision in the Virginia case is indicative of what will happen nationally is doubtful. Even leaders in the departing congregations acknowledge that the judge's rulings turned on interpretation of a statute unique to Virginia.
Jim Oakes, vice chairman of the Anglican District of Virginia, an organization formed by the departing congregations said he thinks the ruling will be "encouraging to other orthodox congregations across the country."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Pastor Rick Warren Interview with Beliefnet
In mid-December, Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., spoke with Beliefnet Editor-in-Chief Steven Waldman concerning many topics, including abortion and same-sex marriage (prior to the latest liberal uproar) -- excerpts, follow:
Beliefnet question: Now that Barack Obama has been elected, are you going to work with them to achieve an abortion reduction agenda or do you think that’s really just a charade?
Pastor Rick Warren: . . . to me it is kind of a charade in that people say we believe abortions should be safe and rare. Why do you believe it should be rare? If you don’t believe life begins at conception, it shouldn’t be rare. That’s an illogical statement. Don’t tell me it should be rare. That’s like saying on the Holocaust well maybe we could save 20% of the Jewish people in Poland and Germany and get them out and we should be satisfied with that. I’m not satisfied with that. I want the Holocaust ended.
And if you truly believe that life begins at conception --which I do because of my commitment to the scripture -- then that means 40 million Americans are not here who should be here. That’s a Holocaust.
Beliefnet question: One controversial moment for you in the last election was your support for proposition 8 in California. … Just to clarify, do you support civil unions or domestic partnerships?
Pastor Rick Warren: No American should ever be discriminated against because of their beliefs. Period. But a civil union is not a civil right. Nowhere in the constitution can you find the “right” to claim that any loving relationship identical to marriage. It’s just not there.
The issue to me [is,] I’m opposed to redefinition of a 5,000 year definition of marriage. I’m opposed to having a brother and sister being together and calling that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.
Beliefnet question: Do you think those are equivalent to gays getting married?
Pastor Rick Warren: Oh, I do. For 5,000 years, marriage has been defined by every single culture and every single religion – this is not a Christian issue. Buddhist, Muslims, Jews – historically, marriage is a man and a woman. And the reason I supported Proposition 8, is really a free speech issue. Because first the court overrode the will of the people, but second there were all kinds of threats that if that did not pass then any pastor could be considered doing hate speech if he shared his views that he didn’t think homosexuality was the most natural way for relationships, and that would be hate speech. We should have freedom of speech, ok? And you should be able to have freedom of speech to make your position and I should be able to have freedom of speech to make my position, and can’t we do this in a civil way.
Most people know I have many gay friends. I’ve eaten dinner in gay homes. No church has probably done more for people with AIDS than Saddleback Church. Kay and I have given millions of dollars out of Purpose Driven Life helping people who got AIDS through gay relationships. So they can’t accuse me of homophobia. I just don’t believe in the redefinition of marriage.
Written clarification/addition from Pastor Rick Warren 12/15:
BOTTOM LINE:
1. God, who always acts out of love and does what is best for us, thought up sex. Sex was God’s idea, not ours. Like fire, and many other things God gave us, sex can be used for good, or abused in ways that harm. The Designer of sex has clearly and repeatedly said that he created sex exclusively for husbands and wives in marriage. Whenever God’s parameters are violated, it causes broken hearts, broken families, emotional hurt and shame, painful memories, and many other destructive consequences. There would be [no] STDs in our world if we all played by the rules.
2. God gives me the free choice to follow his commands or willfully disobey them so I must allow others to have that same free choice. Loving, trusting, and obeying God cannot be forced. In America, people already have the civil right to live as they wish.
3. If anyone, whether unfaithful spouses, or unmarried couples, or homosexuals or anyone else think they are smarter than God and chooses to disobey God’s sexual instructions, it is not the US government’s role to take away their choice. But neither is it the government’s role to classify just any “loving” relationship as a marriage. A committed boyfriend-girlfriend relationship is not a marriage. Two lovers living together is a not a marriage. Incest is not marriage. A domestic partnership or even a civil union is still not marriage.
4. Much of this debate is not really about civil rights, but a desire for approval. The fact that 70% of blacks supported Prop 8 shows they don’t believe it is a civil rights issue. Gays in California already have their rights. What they desire is approval and validation from those who disagree with them, and they are willing to force it by law if necessary. Any disapproval is quickly labeled “hate speech.” Imagine if we held that standard in every other disagreement Americans have? There would be no free speech. That’s why, on the traditional marriage side, many saw Prop 8 as a free speech issue: Don’t force me to validate a lifestyle I disagree with. It is not the same as marriage. And many saw the Teacher’s Union contribution of $3 million against Prop 8, as a effort to insure that children would be taught to approve what most parents disapprove of.
To read the entire interview transcript, CLICK HERE.
For the links to video of the interview, CLICK HERE.
Beliefnet question: Now that Barack Obama has been elected, are you going to work with them to achieve an abortion reduction agenda or do you think that’s really just a charade?
Pastor Rick Warren: . . . to me it is kind of a charade in that people say we believe abortions should be safe and rare. Why do you believe it should be rare? If you don’t believe life begins at conception, it shouldn’t be rare. That’s an illogical statement. Don’t tell me it should be rare. That’s like saying on the Holocaust well maybe we could save 20% of the Jewish people in Poland and Germany and get them out and we should be satisfied with that. I’m not satisfied with that. I want the Holocaust ended.
And if you truly believe that life begins at conception --which I do because of my commitment to the scripture -- then that means 40 million Americans are not here who should be here. That’s a Holocaust.
Beliefnet question: One controversial moment for you in the last election was your support for proposition 8 in California. … Just to clarify, do you support civil unions or domestic partnerships?
Pastor Rick Warren: No American should ever be discriminated against because of their beliefs. Period. But a civil union is not a civil right. Nowhere in the constitution can you find the “right” to claim that any loving relationship identical to marriage. It’s just not there.
The issue to me [is,] I’m opposed to redefinition of a 5,000 year definition of marriage. I’m opposed to having a brother and sister being together and calling that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.
Beliefnet question: Do you think those are equivalent to gays getting married?
Pastor Rick Warren: Oh, I do. For 5,000 years, marriage has been defined by every single culture and every single religion – this is not a Christian issue. Buddhist, Muslims, Jews – historically, marriage is a man and a woman. And the reason I supported Proposition 8, is really a free speech issue. Because first the court overrode the will of the people, but second there were all kinds of threats that if that did not pass then any pastor could be considered doing hate speech if he shared his views that he didn’t think homosexuality was the most natural way for relationships, and that would be hate speech. We should have freedom of speech, ok? And you should be able to have freedom of speech to make your position and I should be able to have freedom of speech to make my position, and can’t we do this in a civil way.
Most people know I have many gay friends. I’ve eaten dinner in gay homes. No church has probably done more for people with AIDS than Saddleback Church. Kay and I have given millions of dollars out of Purpose Driven Life helping people who got AIDS through gay relationships. So they can’t accuse me of homophobia. I just don’t believe in the redefinition of marriage.
Written clarification/addition from Pastor Rick Warren 12/15:
BOTTOM LINE:
1. God, who always acts out of love and does what is best for us, thought up sex. Sex was God’s idea, not ours. Like fire, and many other things God gave us, sex can be used for good, or abused in ways that harm. The Designer of sex has clearly and repeatedly said that he created sex exclusively for husbands and wives in marriage. Whenever God’s parameters are violated, it causes broken hearts, broken families, emotional hurt and shame, painful memories, and many other destructive consequences. There would be [no] STDs in our world if we all played by the rules.
2. God gives me the free choice to follow his commands or willfully disobey them so I must allow others to have that same free choice. Loving, trusting, and obeying God cannot be forced. In America, people already have the civil right to live as they wish.
3. If anyone, whether unfaithful spouses, or unmarried couples, or homosexuals or anyone else think they are smarter than God and chooses to disobey God’s sexual instructions, it is not the US government’s role to take away their choice. But neither is it the government’s role to classify just any “loving” relationship as a marriage. A committed boyfriend-girlfriend relationship is not a marriage. Two lovers living together is a not a marriage. Incest is not marriage. A domestic partnership or even a civil union is still not marriage.
4. Much of this debate is not really about civil rights, but a desire for approval. The fact that 70% of blacks supported Prop 8 shows they don’t believe it is a civil rights issue. Gays in California already have their rights. What they desire is approval and validation from those who disagree with them, and they are willing to force it by law if necessary. Any disapproval is quickly labeled “hate speech.” Imagine if we held that standard in every other disagreement Americans have? There would be no free speech. That’s why, on the traditional marriage side, many saw Prop 8 as a free speech issue: Don’t force me to validate a lifestyle I disagree with. It is not the same as marriage. And many saw the Teacher’s Union contribution of $3 million against Prop 8, as a effort to insure that children would be taught to approve what most parents disapprove of.
To read the entire interview transcript, CLICK HERE.
For the links to video of the interview, CLICK HERE.
Christmas Carolers Attacked by Pro-abortion Protesters
-- From "Peaceful Singing and Disruptive Counter-Protest Mark League's 6th Annual 'Empty Manger' Caroling Day" posted at Pro-Life Action League 12/22/08
The Pro-Life Action League's sixth annual "Empty Manger" Christmas Caroling day was by far the most eventful year yet. For the second year, the League sponsored two tours, one in Chicago and one in DuPage county, visiting abortion clinics singing Christmas carols to bring light and hope to those dark places.
As the carolers began to arrive at American Women's Medical Center, so did the opposition. The League had found out the day before that a group was trying to organize a "counter-protest." But since efforts to organize protests of League events in the past had usually been unsuccessful and poorly attended, no one was concerned.
As soon as the protesters saw they outnumbered the carolers—and that a reporter from a local radio station and a video camera from a TV station had arrived—they began chanting their usual slogans: "Who decides? Women decide."
Several or the pro-abortion protesters placed themselves right next to carolers, shouting in their faces. But the carolers continued to sing, ignoring their opposition. "These people are trained to anger pro-lifers and get them to respond," Ann Scheidler said. "It is so important that we do not take the bait, that we do not respond to their anger with our anger. We cannot give them that kind of power." In spite of their best efforts, the protesters could not start a fight.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
To view the slideshow of the Chicago caroling tour, CLICK HERE.
The Pro-Life Action League's sixth annual "Empty Manger" Christmas Caroling day was by far the most eventful year yet. For the second year, the League sponsored two tours, one in Chicago and one in DuPage county, visiting abortion clinics singing Christmas carols to bring light and hope to those dark places.
As the carolers began to arrive at American Women's Medical Center, so did the opposition. The League had found out the day before that a group was trying to organize a "counter-protest." But since efforts to organize protests of League events in the past had usually been unsuccessful and poorly attended, no one was concerned.
As soon as the protesters saw they outnumbered the carolers—and that a reporter from a local radio station and a video camera from a TV station had arrived—they began chanting their usual slogans: "Who decides? Women decide."
Several or the pro-abortion protesters placed themselves right next to carolers, shouting in their faces. But the carolers continued to sing, ignoring their opposition. "These people are trained to anger pro-lifers and get them to respond," Ann Scheidler said. "It is so important that we do not take the bait, that we do not respond to their anger with our anger. We cannot give them that kind of power." In spite of their best efforts, the protesters could not start a fight.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
To view the slideshow of the Chicago caroling tour, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
6th-grader's Christmas Poem Rejected
A public school teacher in Mississippi marked down an eleven-year-old's Christmas poem assignment . . . because he used the word "Jesus."
-- From "No, Christ isn't allowed in Christmas" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 12/20/08
Liberty Counsel, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, reports that sixth-grader Andrew White of Hattiesburg, Miss., chose to write the poem on the assignment
"What Christmas means to me."
After White turned in his rough draft, however, his teacher circled the word "Jesus" and deducted a point from his grade. The teacher then explained that he needed to rewrite the poem without the offending word.
When White's parents questioned the teacher, Liberty Counsel reports, they received a response email explaining, "[Andrew] and another child did a poem about Christ. I know we can't discuss these type [sic] of things in school so I asked the two of them to do another poem of their choice."
Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, expressed dismay that despite many legal clarifications on the issue, there are still educationl officials that mistakenly believe students can't speak of their faith at school.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "No, Christ isn't allowed in Christmas" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 12/20/08
Liberty Counsel, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, reports that sixth-grader Andrew White of Hattiesburg, Miss., chose to write the poem on the assignment
"What Christmas means to me."
After White turned in his rough draft, however, his teacher circled the word "Jesus" and deducted a point from his grade. The teacher then explained that he needed to rewrite the poem without the offending word.
When White's parents questioned the teacher, Liberty Counsel reports, they received a response email explaining, "[Andrew] and another child did a poem about Christ. I know we can't discuss these type [sic] of things in school so I asked the two of them to do another poem of their choice."
Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, expressed dismay that despite many legal clarifications on the issue, there are still educationl officials that mistakenly believe students can't speak of their faith at school.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Next, Government Commandeers 'Sunday School'
The public school course "is forcing children to learn the content of other religions. Therefore it is the state deciding what religious content will be learned, at what age, and that is totally overriding the parents' authority and role."
-- From "Religious Ed. rebellion - Quebec parents pull students out of new class" by Graeme Hamilton, National Post 12/19/08
A new religion course taught in schools across Quebec was intended to improve inter-cultural understanding, but so far it is generating deep division as hundreds of parents pull their children out of class.
A high school in Granby, Que., has in the past week handed one-day suspensions to seven students boycotting the Ethics and Religious Culture course on the grounds that it violates their freedom of conscience. In nearby Drummondville, a couple will be going to court next spring with a constitutional challenge to the mandatory course.
The new course is the final step in a secularization of Quebec schooling that began with a 1997 constitutional amendment replacing the province's denominational school boards with linguistic ones.
A 2005 law changed Quebec's Education Act and its Charter of Rights to eliminate parents' right to choose a course in Catholic, Protestant or moral instruction, and the changes came into effect last June.
Stephanie Tremblay, a spokeswoman for Quebec's Education Department, said school boards across the province have received and rejected more than 1,400 requests from public-school parents seeking to have their children exempted from taking the course.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Religious Ed. rebellion - Quebec parents pull students out of new class" by Graeme Hamilton, National Post 12/19/08
A new religion course taught in schools across Quebec was intended to improve inter-cultural understanding, but so far it is generating deep division as hundreds of parents pull their children out of class.
A high school in Granby, Que., has in the past week handed one-day suspensions to seven students boycotting the Ethics and Religious Culture course on the grounds that it violates their freedom of conscience. In nearby Drummondville, a couple will be going to court next spring with a constitutional challenge to the mandatory course.
The new course is the final step in a secularization of Quebec schooling that began with a 1997 constitutional amendment replacing the province's denominational school boards with linguistic ones.
A 2005 law changed Quebec's Education Act and its Charter of Rights to eliminate parents' right to choose a course in Catholic, Protestant or moral instruction, and the changes came into effect last June.
Stephanie Tremblay, a spokeswoman for Quebec's Education Department, said school boards across the province have received and rejected more than 1,400 requests from public-school parents seeking to have their children exempted from taking the course.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Rick Warren, Once Loved by Hollywood, Now Cursed
The liberal elite loved the Orange County mega-pastor when he joined them at Al Gore's global warming premiere, and led the way on HIV/AIDS in Africa, but now he's "thrown under the bus" for his support of Prop 8.
-- From "Obama's choice of Rick Warren to lead prayer dismays Hollywood liberals" by Tina Daunt, LA Times 12/20/08
Obama's selection of Orange County mega-pastor and bestselling author Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his swearing in has hit liberal Hollywood in one of its sorest spots: the passage of Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, which Warren strongly supported. In fact, he has compared same-sex nuptials to approving polygamy and pedophilia.
Reaction in the entertainment industry -- where interestingly, Warren has his own powerful ties -- has been swift, angry and bitter.
The passage of Proposition 8 galvanized activist Hollywood in a way that the campaign had not.
Democratic political consultant Chad Griffin, who this week was named by the Advocate, America's leading gay publication, as one of its People of the Year, thinks that it's up to Warren to let Obama off the hook and withdraw.
Griffin said he planned to ask for a meeting with the pastor to make the case that Obama should pick someone else to do the invocation.
[Kathryn Kolbert, same-sex marriage advocate, and] the head of People for the American Way -- a group founded by Norman Lear -- said she was "profoundly disappointed" that Warren was asked to play a key role in the inauguration. ". . . the sad truth is that this decision further elevates someone who has in recent weeks actively promoted legalized discrimination and denigrated the lives and relationships of millions of Americans."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
To read about Rick Warren's August 2008 interview with Obama and McCain, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Obama's choice of Rick Warren to lead prayer dismays Hollywood liberals" by Tina Daunt, LA Times 12/20/08
Obama's selection of Orange County mega-pastor and bestselling author Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his swearing in has hit liberal Hollywood in one of its sorest spots: the passage of Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, which Warren strongly supported. In fact, he has compared same-sex nuptials to approving polygamy and pedophilia.
Reaction in the entertainment industry -- where interestingly, Warren has his own powerful ties -- has been swift, angry and bitter.
The passage of Proposition 8 galvanized activist Hollywood in a way that the campaign had not.
Democratic political consultant Chad Griffin, who this week was named by the Advocate, America's leading gay publication, as one of its People of the Year, thinks that it's up to Warren to let Obama off the hook and withdraw.
Griffin said he planned to ask for a meeting with the pastor to make the case that Obama should pick someone else to do the invocation.
[Kathryn Kolbert, same-sex marriage advocate, and] the head of People for the American Way -- a group founded by Norman Lear -- said she was "profoundly disappointed" that Warren was asked to play a key role in the inauguration. ". . . the sad truth is that this decision further elevates someone who has in recent weeks actively promoted legalized discrimination and denigrated the lives and relationships of millions of Americans."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
To read about Rick Warren's August 2008 interview with Obama and McCain, CLICK HERE.
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