In separate actions, two theologically conservative church groups
have affirmed that decisions concerning the education of their children
is best left to parents, not denominations.
At their annual meetings in June, the Southern Baptist Convention
(SBC) and the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) General Assembly
rejected resolutions that would have encouraged members to remove
their children from public schools. The SBC rejected a similar measure
in 2004.
The SBC meeting was held in Nashville, Tennessee; the PCA General
Assemby met in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The original SBC resolution cited the growing number of public
schools that, under the guise of tolerance and diversity, are influencing
students to accept homosexuality as normal. The resolution was co-sponsored
by Dr. Voddie Baucham, a prominent Bible teacher and author, and
attorney Bruce Shortt, a homeschooling father from Texas. The measure
also had the support of over 50 pro-family groups from around the
nation.
The PCA resolution focused on the humanistic and secular nature
of a public school system that "does not offer a Christian
eduction, but officially claims to be ‘neutral’ with regard
to Christ, a position that Christ Himself said was impossible (Luke
11:23)." Supporters of the resolution included the nationally
known pastor D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Joel Belz, founder of World
magazine.
Following their respective procedures, both assemblies referred
the resolutions to committees for evaluation.
The SBC Resolutions Committee responded with a resolution of its
own, and then referred it to the full body for a vote. The final
lengthy resolution urged parents to investigate their community
schools "and to demand discontinuation of offensive material
and programs. … " It also encouraged parents to hold their
schools accountable for their moral influence on children but it
omitted language calling for Southern Baptist parents to take their
children out of public schools.
The PCA Bills and Overtures Committee simply recommended that the
full assembly reject the "Christian Education Resolution"
on the grounds that "the education of covenant children is
best left to the wisdom of Christian parents under the pastoral
guidance of local church Sessions."
Dianne Gramley of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania
was a strong supporter of the original SBC resolution. However,
she sees the final resolution’s passage as a "huge success."
Likewise, Rev. Steven Warhurst of Kingsport, Tennessee, who submitted
the original PCA resolution, believes that through the process,
his denomination was made more aware of the importance of Christian
education. "The resolution was defeated, but we got the word
out there, and we were able to make our case, and it was heard,"
he said.
For the full text of the final SBC resolution
click here
WorldNetDaily.com, 6/15/05; The Christian
Post, 6/16/05, 6/19/05, 6/20/05, 6/23/05
AFA
launches drive to protect flag
As a symbol of freedom, there is perhaps nothing that
compares with the American flag. That’s why AFA has begun an
effort to protect the flag from being burned or otherwise desecrated.
A petition drive will allow people to express their feelings concerning
a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at safeguarding the flag
from debasement. The petition can be accessed at
www.afa.net.
The amendment reads: "The Congress shall have power to prohibit
the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."
It passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 286-130.
AFA hopes to gather one million signatures on the petition which
will be presented to the U.S. Senate before it votes on the amendment.
"Symbols mean a lot to people, and the American flag is perhaps
the most beloved symbol we have," said AFA President Tim Wildmon.
"We hope people will take just a few moments of their time
to sign a petition that will communicate how they feel to the U.S.
Senate."
CLP
sues social workers over seizure of children
In June, the AFA Center for Law and Policy (CLP) joined
forces with a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, attorney in filing a federal
lawsuit charging social workers with multiple violations of the
constitutional rights of parents and two students.
The legal dispute arose after social workers interrogated and conducted
a bodily search of second-and third-grade students without notice
to or consent of the parents.
The complaint alleges that a social worker illegally entered a
private school, Good Hope Christian Academy, by wrongly informing
the principal that the law required that she be allowed access to
the children and ordering the principal not to contact the parents.
In fact, in a recent federal lawsuit, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals held that it is "patently unconstitutional"
for government officials to seize a child on private school premises
without a warrant or an emergency.
Once inside, the social worker allegedly examined the two children
after ordering one boy to raise his shirt, and a girl to lift her
jumper and pull down her tights.
"The sheer arrogance of these social workers knows no bounds,"
said Stephen Crampton, chief counsel for the CLP, which represents
the boy and his mother. "They have effectively thumbed their
noses at the federal appeals court and laid claim to being a law
unto themselves. We will not let them get away with this blatant
violation of the law."
Investigate
Movie Gallery’s porn business, AFA asks feds
Why is one of America’s largest retailers of hard-core
sex videos being ignored by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ),
which is charged with investigating obscenity?
That’s precisely what AFA wants to know, and it is why AFA
is asking the DOJ to investigate Movie Gallery. In hundreds of its
stores, the video retailer has backrooms stocked with racks of hardcore
pornography featuring titles that can’t be printed in this
space.
"Explicit R-rated and NC-17 videos also line Movie Gallery
shelves, mixed in with the general releases outside the hardcore
rooms," said AFA Director of Special Projects Randy Sharp.
"It’s not at all uncommon to find these videos in full
view of children."
Movie Gallery’s hardcore porn business is the reason why AFA
called for a boycott of the retailer, but Sharp said there is more
that people can do. AFA is also asking supporters to contact the
U.S. Attorney General’s office (202-353-1555) and ask the DOJ
to investigate Movie Gallery to see if it is in violation of federal
obscenity statutes.
"It’s time the DOJ did the work American taxpayers expect
of them, in order to protect our families and communities,"
Sharp said.
PTA
again sides with homosexual group
The National Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) hosted
a workshop in June that stressed the need to incorporate more "gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender" (GLBT) issues in public
school policies and curricula. Meanwhile, a group that presents
a message of hope for gays and ex-gays was refused space for their
own display.
The Safe Schools workshop at the National PTA Convention in Columbus,
Ohio, was conducted by Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians
and Gays (PFLAG), a group that wants more training for teachers
and students on homosexual and trans-gender issues in schools.
One of the PFLAG presenters, United Church of Christ minister Lawrence
Rezash, told PTA members that putting a rainbow ribbon — a
symbol of homosexual pride and solidarity — on a school bulletin
board is one of many subtle ways teachers and guidance counselors
can let GLBT students know they are in a safe environment.
However, pro-family groups like AFA believe that the "school
safety" argument is used as a smokescreen to allow homosexual
propaganda into classrooms. According to the U.S. Department of
Justice, for example, only 1% of school bullying and harassment
incidents are due to a student’s sexual orientation.
Grove City College psychology professor and mental health counselor
Dr. Warren Throckmorton (www.drthrockmorton.com)
contends there are ways schools can provide safety for all students
without singling out specific victim groups.
"I think if any kid is being harassed for any reason, teachers
should intervene…," he said. "Bullies bully because
they’re able to, and teachers need to intervene every time
they see bullying — not just when [the bullying involves] certain
groups of kids."
Meanwhile, some members of the National PTA have criticized their
organization’s decision to shut out an "ex-gay" group
from the PTA’s convention. Although the PTA has refused to
comment to the press on its rejection of the group Parents and Friends
of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX, www.pfox.org),
disgruntled convention delegates are not remaining silent on the
issue.
One delegate from Columbus — a public school teacher who wished
to remain anonymous for fear of retribution from PTA leaders —
contended that the exclusion of PFOX was because the PTA favors
the presence of homosexual activist groups in public schools.
"I just believe that it’s a political agenda," she
said, "and whoever made the decision to deny [exhibit space
to PFOX] is connected to the gay community in some way. Therefore
they made a decision to shut out this group."
Numerous communities have decided to establish local parent-teacher
organizations, preferring to use all monies from fundraisers in
their own schools, rather than supporting a national organization
that increasingly takes liberal positions on cultural issues like
homosexuality.
Perhaps as a result, overall PTA membership nationwide is down
— as was attendance at this year’s PTA convention.
To contact the PTA: National PTA, 541 N. Fairbanks Ct., Ste. 1300,
Chicago IL 60611-3396; phone: 312-670-6782; toll-free: 800-307-4782;
PTA president e-mail: president@pta.org
EDUCATION
Parents
upset about condom handouts
Parents at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa, California,
are unhappy with the school’s distribution of condoms and birth
control pills to students as young as 12 without parental notification.
The school board claims it is necessary to address high teen-pregnancy
rates in the area.
However, Lindann McPheeters, a parent, said, "I think they
just want to have [a birth control-dispensing health clinic] available,
and they also want to override parents."
McPheeters said when school clinic personnel made a presentation
to a concerned parents’ group, "they told us — and
I have a copy of the PowerPoint information — they told us
they were only going to prescribe [birth control], not dispense.
But by the time it got to the board for that agenda it was changed
to prescribe and dispense."
California Eagle Forum is distributing petitions that call on the
school board to revoke its decision and add abstinence education
to the curriculum.
AgapePress, 6/7/05
ENTERTAINMENT
G-rated
movies make more than R-rated
R-rated movies are 11 times more profitable than R-rated
(Restricted) movies according to a study by the Dove Foundation
(www.dove.org).
While that finding validates other studies, Dove chairman Dick Rolfe
said Hollywood executives and producers still seem to ignore the
message.
"What Hollywood has always argued," Rolfe said, "is
that, that smaller audience spends more money in the theaters, so
[Hollywood] actually makes more money by pandering to a smaller
audience. Well, our study proves that that’s not true."
In fact, he noted, "Over a 15-year period, the average R-rated
movie only made $7 million, and the average G-rated movie made $79
million during that same time."
Rolfe said the study is ground-breaking because it offers a new
approach to examining the bottom line.
"Everybody has always focused on the gross box office of a
film but never on its profitability," he said. "So we
bring a new formula to the scene, and it has been received very
well."
AgapePress, 6/8/05; AP, 6/7/05
Media
violence linked to aggressive behavior
Aggressive behavior among youths may be stimulated by
media violence, according to new research by Indiana University
(IU) School of Medicine.
Building on earlier research, the study involved two groups each
of 14 boys and five girls. One group’s members had been diagnosed
with disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) and had a history of violent
behavior. The second (control) group had no such history.
"Individuals in the control group with high media violence
exposure showed a brain activation pattern similar to the pattern
of the aggressive group," said IU’s Vincent P. Matthews,
M.D.
The exposure to violent media parallels a decrease of brain activity
in the frontal cortex, the portion of the brain linked to self-control
and attention problems.
Dr. Matthews and collaborator William Kronenberger, Ph.D., said
more research is needed before concluding that media violence causes
the reduced brain function. But they think the association should
be taken seriously.
Their research was reported in the May/June issue of Journal
of Computer Assisted Tomography.
www.medicine.indiana.edu, 6/9/05
FAMILY
Ministry
celebrates, encourages fidelity
Stand F.I.R.M. is a new ministry with its roots in "It’s
You," a love song written and recorded by Troy Johnson, former
Motown and RCA recording artist.
Johnson’s song celebrates marital fidelity, the basis for
the F.I.R.M. acronym standing for Fidelity Initiative — Restore
Marriage.
"We believe this movement is going to spark a fidelity reformation
in this country," said Mark Molzen of SA Entertainment, a Scottsdale,
Arizona, company committed to producing powerful music with a positive
message.
After recording two albums, Johnson took an extended break from
music, beginning in the early 1990s. He returned to secular music
with his 2005 self-titled CD which includes "It’s You."
The project was inspired by his wife Denise. Johnson’s desire
to be involved in ministry led him to be a co-founder of Stand F.I.R.M.
Lyrics in Johnson’s song include, "I don’t need
to roam, I’ve got a good thing right at home. Baby, it’s
you." His style is described as a smooth R&B sound.
The Stand F.I.R.M. kick-off event will occur August 9 at 7:00 p.m.
at Robinson Music Hall in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The event will feature music by Johnson along with popular contemporary
Christian artists the Katinas.
In addition, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, NBA stars A.C. Green
and Allan Houston, and NFL greats Steve Young and Darryl Green will
be on hand to address the crowd.
For more information, visit www.standfirmnow.com
or call 480-905-7202.
GOVERNMENT
FBI
stats show crime down, sentences up
It’s not always easy for cultural observers to explain
why certain trends occur, but in the case of violent crime, the
positive trends might be best explained by the fact that more criminals
are winding up in prison — and staying there.
With the exception of 2001, violent crime has declined in each
of the last 12 years, according to the FBI. Total crime rates dropped
33% in that period, while violent crimes dropped a staggering 60%.
One possible reason for those declining rates? In an article in
Forbes magazine, Dan Seligman said, "There’s a
stunningly simple explanation for the huge drop in crime rates:
The villains are behind bars."
Seligman said the get-tough approach has resulted in increased
incarceration for criminals. "Today’s jail and prison
population of 2.1 million is 53% above the 1993 number and roughly
triple the 1984 number," he said, adding, "The connection
of incarceration to crime rates is hard to ignore."
Also addressed in his Forbes article was the argument, made
by some who oppose the get-tough approach, that police are simply
locking away more "harmless folks" like those arrested
on minor drug offenses.
Seligman said that’s partly true because such offenses do
factor into the increase in incarceration. However, he argued, "the
‘nonviolent’ prison population is indeed sizeable, but
it isn’t harmless." In fact, Seligman said, one study
showed that 95% of those being released after serving time for nonviolent
offenses had an arrest history prior to their drug arrest.
"On average they had 9.3 prior arrests and about a third of
these had been for violent crimes," he said. "The fact
is that a sizeable proportion of criminals sentenced for nonviolent
offenses like buying dope is, in fact, chronically violent."
Forbes, 5/23/05; USA Today, 6/7/05
MEDIA
The
beat goes on: journalists swing left
A University of Connecticut survey affirms other reports
and polls indicating that journalists voted overwhelmingly for John
Kerry in last fall’s presidential election.
The university’s department of public policy recently released
results of the survey, in which 68% of journalists said they voted
for Kerry and 25% for President Bush.
The survey included 120 television journalists and 180 newspaper
journalists. Forty-three percent were news editors or directors,
4% TV producers, and 5% news analysts and columnists. Only 47% were
at the reporter level.
www.mrc.org, 5/16/05
PORNOGRAPHY
AG
tightens porn rules
U. S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is tightening the reins
on pornography production by requiring pornographers to keep the
names and ages of their performers on record.
Gonzales’ effort is a response to charges that a lot of pornography
includes minors, and a response to pornographers who believe ignorance
will keep them out of trouble.
"There is a clear message here from the attorney general that
this is serious, that this kind of activity is going to be more
closely monitored and scrutinized," said Ernie Allen, president
of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
www.family.org, 5/27/05
DOJ
targets peddlers of obscenity
The Department of Justice recently established an Obscenity
Prosecution Task Force devoted solely to the investigation and prosecution
of obscenity cases. It will target distributors of hardcore pornography
to see if such material meets the legal test of obscenity.
"As our Supreme Court has reinforced, transmitting obscenity
and child pornography — whether via the Internet or other means
— is already illegal under our federal laws," said John
C. Richter, acting assistant attorney general, at a May 2005 summit
on pornography. "These are federal laws we in the Department
have sworn duty to enforce."
"With the creation of this Task Force, our commitment to the
law enforcement in this vital area is taken one step further,"
said Christopher Wray, assistant attorney general.
This commitment includes a plan to address the increased use of
technology to distribute smut.
"The special challenges that obscenity cases pose in the computer
age require an equally specialized response," Wray explained.
"A coordinated Task Force of prosecutorial expertise is the
best way to meet those challenges."
Randy Sharp, AFA director of special projects, told WorldNetDaily
he agrees. "It is equally critical that the Justice Department
be aggressive in their approach to obscenity in the area of technology,"
Sharp said. "The Internet, and now wireless phones, put our
children at risk because parents are virtually helpless in stemming
the sheer volume of porn directed at their children."
"The good news is that most of this smut is controlled by
relatively few companies and individuals," he added. "That
makes it easier for a robust enforcement effort to control."
www.usdoj.gov, 5/5/05; www.worldnetdaily.com,
5/7/05; AgapePress, 5/11/05, Department of Justice, 5/19/05
RELIGION
Details
of Price case revealed in new book
Tolerating the Intolerable, the first book-length
analysis of DePauw University’s persecution of educator Janis
Price, is scheduled to go to press in August. Written by DePauw
University alumnus Jeffrey D. Shively, the book is based on thorough
research including the examination of various documents related
to the case.
The case came about after Price, a long-time administrator and
instructor in the education department of DePauw University in Indiana,
was reprimanded for permitting students to take copies of a Christian-based
education magazine that addressed the Biblical stance on homosexuality.
The magazine, a publication of Focus on the Family, was only made
available to students with no related assignments given. However,
one student, a member of a homosexual activist group, complained,
thus beginning Price’s disappointing journey through the Indiana
legal system.
Tolerating the Intolerable follows Price’s legal case
while enlightening readers on what the author considers to be "the
true nature of modern American law."
To order a copy of the book, contact the author by e-mail at Cad19651941@yahoo.com
or via U.S. mail at 625 Medallion Drive, Greencastle, IN 46135.
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