Pro-family victories highlight July
Pro-family victories highlight July
Depression linked to risky teen sex
Clemson freshman sex text stirs controversy
Temple policy protects students against faculty bias
Hollywood wins ‘sanitized videos’ case
Smoking in movies influences kids
Kid’s book explains Biblical perspective on gay marriage
Harvard introduces third gender
Surveys reveal gay sex practices
Parents see Internet as greatest media risk
Net porn ranks high in England
Honor pastors, Sunday school teachers in October
AFA
American Family Radio brings children’s radio to the Internet
AFA’s broadcast ministry has launched KIDZRADIO, a new 24-hour Internet-based radio network designed for children.
Online streaming technology will allow children all over the world to access Christian songs, programs, games and activities by visiting www.afa.net or www.afr.net and clicking on the KIDZRADIO banner.
The KIDZRADIO line-up will rotate on a daily basis and will feature such programs as Paws & Tales, Kidz Songs and Patch the Pirate, among others. New episodes of the programs will be added on a regular basis, while old episodes will be stored and available to the listener on demand. New programs will be added in the future.
“Our new KIDZRADIO channel will allow children to listen to their favorite programs whenever they want,” said Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of AFA.
The Internet channel will replace AFR’s Saturday morning children’s radio broadcast, which is limited in the number of children it can reach.
“We plan to continually upgrade KIDZRADIO, adding games and interactive sites for children to enjoy. KIDZRADIO will allow parents to be completely worry-free when their children listen,” Wildmon added.
KIDZRADIO is part of AFA’s plan to increase the use of the Internet to expand its ministry to serve listeners of all ages. A new 6,000-square-foot communications center is under construction to handle AFA’s Internet expansion.
CHRISTIAN ACTIVISM
Pro-family victories highlight July; Democratic leaders ‘come out of the closet’
The homosexual agenda suffered numerous setbacks in July as court rulings turned away those seeking the legalization of same-sex marriage. But in Congress it was a different story, and high-profile leaders of the Democratic Party made it clear which side of this fence they’re on.
• Courts in Georgia and Tennessee ruled in favor of voter initiatives banning gay marriage, with the former upholding a previous vote and the latter allowing the initiative to appear on the ballot in November 2006.
• The same Massachusetts high court which legalized same-sex marriage also ruled in July that it was legal for citizens to propose their own version of a state constitutional amendment prohibiting it.
• Meanwhile, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower federal court ruling which had nullified Nebraska’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
• In two surprising court decisions, the high courts of New York and Washington states rejected the argument that banning same-sex marriage violated their respective state constitutions. Both courts essentially ruled in the same way: the task of regulating marriage lies with the legislative branch, not the judiciary.
The spate of court rulings in one month made July almost as positive a period for pro-family advocates as the 2004 election, when in the course of one day 11 states passed voter initiatives banning same-sex marriage. Two other states had passed such measures within the preceding 90-day period.
Currently 45 states ban same-sex marriage – with 20 of those states having such a ban placed in their constitutions. Voters in at least six states – Idaho, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin – will be considering similar amendment ballot measures in November.
Congress tunes out concerns
Despite the overwhelming opposition to same-sex marriage represented by voter decisions, many of the members of Congress seemed unmoved when both houses considered the Marriage Protection Act (MPA), which would amend the U.S. Constitution.
The MPA defines marriage as being between one man and one woman. To amend the Constitution, both houses of Congress must pass a proposed amendment by a two-thirds margin. If that step is achieved, the measure then requires that three-fourths of the states ratify it.
The MPA passed in both houses, but vote totals fell short of the necessary two-thirds margin.
According to Rev. Jerry Sutton, a prominent leader in Southern Baptist circles, voters need to hold their elected representatives accountable. “When they feel the heat, they’ll see the light,” he said.
Democrats embrace gay marriage
The gay double victory in Congress was primarily the result of the efforts of pro-homosexual politicos in the Democratic Party, who have been extremely critical of same-sex marriage bans – of both the federal and state variety.
For example, Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), responded to the New York high court ruling with a statement of full-fledged support for same-sex marriage, and a criticism of the pro-family position on the matter.
Referring to the court’s defense of traditional views of marriage and family, Dean said such beliefs relied “on outdated and bigoted notions about families.”
Democratic leaders are doing more than talking, however. In July a secret DNC strategy paper on the subject of pro-family voter initiatives was leaked by The Washington Blade, a homosexual newspaper.
As the November elections near, the DNC plan outlined a five-point strategy developed to fight against ballot initiatives that would ban same-sex marriage. According to Citizen Link, the DNC strategy will be to: (1) label such marriage initiatives as “divisive ploys by Republicans” meant “to deflect voter attention from other important issues;” (2) train party operatives in every state to wage effective campaigns against such pro-family amendments; (3) develop talking points for use in media appearances; (4) work with Democratic candidates’ campaigns to fight the ballot initiatives; and (5) reach out to homosexual communities in the U.S. to organize and empower them politically.
“Most of the Democratic leadership has come out of the closet,” said AFA Chairman Don Wildmon. “They fully support the homosexual community’s radical vision of marriage and family.”
CULTURE
Depression linked to risky teen sex
Adolescents who experience increased levels of depression are more likely to participate in risky sexual practices, according to a recent study.
Published in the July issue of Pediatrics, the study found that highly depressed girls were 50% more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, and highly depressed teen boys were 70% more likely to do so.
Study author Dr. Jocelyn A. Lehrer of the University of California, San Francisco, speculated that adolescents “who are both emotionally distressed and socially isolated may be more likely to seek or be successfully pressured into sexual activity, in the name of some kind of shared intimacy, or to maintain relationships that they value.”
Lehrer also reasoned that depression might make adolescents more vulnerable to sexual pressures and temptations to use drugs or alcohol – a key factor in much teen sexual activity. Or, perhaps, she suggested, it was possible that risky behavior – including sex – was a young person’s way of trying to harm himself or herself.
The potential impact of adolescent risky sexual behavior on public health is not small. Lehrer noted that 15-20% of all teens experience at least one bout with major depression. Moreover, adolescents account for about half of all new cases of sexually transmitted diseases.
Lehrer said that depressed teens who do become involved in sexual experimentation “have a greater likelihood of engaging in behaviors that increase their risk of HIV, other sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancy.”
www.drkoop.com, 7/6/06; www.news.yahoo.com, 7/10/06
Study highlights HPV risk
A new study provides a grim reminder of the potential cost of sexual promiscuity.
Epidemiologist Rachel Winer of the University of Washington School of Public Health found that, even when women used condoms 100% of the time, nearly 30% of the women contracted the human papilloma virus (HPV).
For a number of years, those who promote abstinence until marriage have been warning of the dangers of contracting HPV, which causes cervical cancer. Because the virus does not reside merely in the genital area, they say that condoms do not offer sufficient protection against the disease.
But in a strange twist, those who support condom-based sex education actually touted the study results as validation for their approach. According to William Beckman, executive director of the Illinois Right to Life Committee, some ‘safer sex’ promoters claimed the study demonstrated that condoms provided protection against HPV 70% of the time.
“Why isn’t the fact that condoms, even under ideal usage conditions, failed 28.5% of the time the real story here?” Beckman asked. “Who would consider this an acceptable failure rate when dealing with a cancer-causing virus?”
www.illinoisfamily.org, 6/26/06; www.lifesite.net, 6/27/06
EDUCATION
Clemson freshman sex text stirs controversy
A nonfiction book detailing the author’s sex life was on Clemson University’s required reading list for incoming freshman this fall.
Jan Murdoch, dean of undergraduate studies, defended the book, claiming it offered “the opportunity for some serious intellectual discussion.” The book, Truth and Beauty, details author Ann Patchett’s relationship with another woman.
Commission on Higher Education member Ken Wingate disagreed with the choice. Wingate wrote a letter to Clemson president Jim Barker citing his objections and suggesting that the university offer an optional text for students who objected.
Wingate reported that he had received phone calls and e-mails complaining about the book. “This is inappropriate to shove down the throats of incoming freshmen,” he said.
Murdoch countered: “We are not trying to advocate any kind of behavior. We’re really expecting the discussion to focus on friendships, the boundaries of friendships and what is acceptable behavior.”
www.greenvilleonline.com, 7/14/06
Temple policy protects students against faculty bias
Temple University is beefing up its policy protecting students from brainwashing by leftist professors. In July, the Philadelphia school’s board of trustees adopted a three-page document with provisions to protect students from ideological discrimination and with grievance procedures when offenses occur.
The move was applauded by David Horowitz, founder of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture. “I’m thrilled with this,” Horowitz said. “What the Temple policy does is put students into the equation for the first time.”
At January hearings on the Temple campus, Marlene Cowal, president of the campus chapter of Students for Academic Freedom, cited examples of professors attacking the Bush administration while praising communist leaders such as Mao Zedong and Che Guevara.
State Sen. Gibson Armstrong (R) said, “I think it’s a step forward for students’ rights and something that will help ensure [those rights] on campus.” Armstrong chaired the hearings.
www.washtimes.com, 7/24/06
ENTERTAINMENT
Hollywood wins ‘sanitized videos’ case
The entertainment industry scored big with its recent victory in a lengthy legal battle over the production and distribution of DVDs that contain sanitized versions of theatrically released films.
CleanFlicks, CleanFlicks of Colorado (a separate entity), CleanFilms, Play It Clean Video, and Family Flix USA are known for making copies of an official DVD release and then editing out offensive content such as sex, nudity, profanity and violence. Customers were required to purchase or rent both the original film and the edited version.
The businesses claimed they had the right to produce sanitized versions of the films based on First Amendment and fair use grounds, which allow for the use of copyrighted materials when it comes to criticism, news reporting and parody, among other circumstances.
However, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and major studios MGM, Time Warner, Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Walt Disney Co., DreamWorks, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures claimed that such production is copyright infringement.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch recently ruled in favor of DGA and the studios and ordered an immediate end to all production, manufacturing, creation, sale and rental of the edited films.
“Their business is illegitimate,” Matsch wrote in a 16-page ruling. “The right to control the content of copyrighted work … is the essence of the law of copyright.”
According to the businesses, the movie studios were not harmed in any way nor did they lose any money since the businesses purchased an official release for every film they edited and included it alongside the sale or rental of every cleaned-up version.
As a result of the court’s ruling, CleanFilms was forced to end its relationships with customers and affiliated groups, including AFA.
“Although our relationship has ended, we were pleased to be affiliated with CleanFilms,” said Cherry Sims, director of media placement for AFA. “The company offered a valuable product for families who were interested in viewing current movies without being subjected to gratuitous sex, violence and profanity.
“We regret the decision of a federal court to place the ‘creative artistic expression’ of Hollywood over the responsibility of parents to choose what is best for their families to watch. The federal courts have simply kowtowed to the arrogant Hollywood elite in lieu of common sense, decency and the innocence of our children.”
The businesses said they plan to appeal to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
www.movies.yahoo.com, 7/8/06, 7/9/06; www.thehollywoodreporteresq.com, 7/10/06
Smoking in movies influences kids
Hollywood moguls often claim that the behaviors portrayed in their movies – such as illicit sex, profanity, or alcohol and drug abuse – do not influence the viewer in any way. But a new study suggests those moguls may be mistaken.
According to a study by the American Legacy Foundation and Dartmouth Medical School, “From 1999 through 2005, 76% of U.S. live action movies rated PG-13 and 40% rated G or PG featured tobacco imagery. Over that time the balance of on-screen tobacco incidents has shifted from R-rated into youth-related films.”
The American Legacy Foundation says on its Web site (www.americanlegacy.org) that it is “dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco.” That’s why the group finds the new study so disturbing, because it says research “confirms the link between exposure to movie smoking and smoking among U.S. youth.”
The organization says, “That research indicated that 38% of youth smoking initiation can be directly traced to exposure to smoking in movies. In addition, children with the highest exposure to smoking in movies were found to be three times more likely to start smoking than those with the least exposure.”
“This is further proof of the pervasive and powerful influence of the mass media,” said AFA Chairman Don Wildmon. “Hollywood needs to start considering the cost to our culture, specifically our youth, when films feed our kids a steady diet of filth and violence, and model harmful behavior as ‘cool.’”
USA Today, 7/18/06
HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA
Kid’s book explains Biblical perspective on gay marriage
Same-sex marriage is controversial among adults in the U.S., but for children – and especially Christian children – the subject is sure to be confusing, too.
A new book from Apologetics Press helps parents address with their children the matter of gay marriage. Does God Love Michael’s Two Daddies? focuses on Seth and Sarah, twins who meet a new friend named Michael on the first day of a new school year. When Michael announces that his two daddies are thinking about getting married, the twins get confused. They ask their parents about it that night at dinner.
“For the last 15 years, the homosexual community has been publishing children’s books promoting homosexuality, starting with the book Heather Has Two Mommies. Other books such as Daddy’s Roommate and My Two Uncles have followed suit,” the organization says on its Web site (www.apologeticspress.org). “To our knowledge, no comparable children’s book designed to combat the promotion of homosexuality is available on the market – until now.”
Does God Love Michael’s Two Daddies? is beautifully illustrated and well written, and the subject matter is handled sensitively. Moreover, the presentation of the Biblical message is done in a manner that would teach children to have compassion for those in the homosexual lifestyle.
Copies can be purchased directly from Apologetics Press Web site or by calling 800-234-8558.
Harvard introduces third gender
Prospective applicants to the prestigious Harvard Business School no longer have to declare themselves to be either male or female, but now have a third choice.
Before completing an application, students looking to enter Harvard’s Master of Business Administration program are asked to fill out an online profile that offers three choices of gender: female, male, or transgender. The form also asks prospective applicants if they would be interested in learning more about the school’s “lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender” community.
Transgendered persons are those who believe their biological gender does not reflect how they feel inside. Often they will either dress as the opposite gender (transvestite) or have surgery to alter their physical appearance (transsexual).
Bob Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute at Concerned Women for America, says it’s not compassionate for Harvard to encourage people to reject their God-given natures.
“The foundation of the transgender movement is the homosexual activist movement,” Knight says, “because their interest lies in getting rid of the traditional morality of God-given division into two sexes, the uniting of those two sexes in marriage.”
And Knight says the homosexual and transgender agendas militate against that completely. “They say that’s old, taboo, superstitious, [that] we have to get rid of that, and everybody can be whoever they want to be.”
www.agapepress.org, 7/25/06
Surveys reveal gay sex practices
Two recent surveys of the gay community – one in the U.S. and one in Ireland – reveal that the homosexual lifestyle continues to be plagued by promiscuity and unsafe sex practices.
A survey by The Advocate, a homosexual magazine, revealed that promiscuity is a reality among gays. The poll found that 20% of homosexuals said they had had 51-300 different sex partners in their lifetime, with an additional 8% having had more than 300.
Unprotected gay sex is also a concern among health professionals. A survey in Ireland by the Gay Men’s Health Project found that almost half of homosexuals said they were having unprotected sex.
The Advocate survey seemed to underscore that. It found that 55% of homosexuals said they never (20%), occasionally (10%) or usually (25%) practiced so-called “safer sex.”
Concerns have also grown over the increase in casual sex among homosexuals . One aspect of the Advocate poll was that 41% of homosexuals had met a sex partner online – a habit that medical professionals say could be driving the increase in sexually transmitted diseases in the gay population.
The fact that many homosexuals appear to live their lives in sexual overdrive does not seem to concern gay leaders. In an editorial from the same issue (August 15) in which the survey results were published, The Advocate said: “[Homosexuals] have been proud leaders in the sexual revolution that started in the 1960s, and we have rejected attempts by conservatives to demonize that part of who we are.”
The Advocate, 8/15/06; www.planetout.com, 7/17/06
MEDIA
Parents see Internet as greatest media risk
A recent survey of parents revealed that the Internet is feared as posing the greatest risk to their children, ages 11-16, even while those same parents understood the power of the Web as a learning resource.
According to eMarketer.com, the nationwide poll conducted by Common Sense Media found that 85% of U.S. parents were concerned that the Internet would expose their children and teens to hazards, such as sexual predators, wrong values and “ideas that children are too young to see.”
Television was second, with 13% of parents saying it was the riskiest media outlet. Magazines, DVDs/videos and radio were all tied at 1%. (Percentages add up to 101 because of rounding.)
However, 91% of parents also said they believed the Internet helped their children find information about things that interested them, while 77% said the Web was an important educational tool.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” said James P. Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media. “Parents view the Internet as a learning tool, but are scared that they do not know how to make it safer for their kids.”
Steyer said many parents felt especially unequipped to deal with some of the Internet bells and whistles that are popular with kids, such as “social networking sites, chat rooms, iTunes and [Instant Messaging],” which are “unfamiliar terrain to many parents.”
Still, parents feel it is their duty to be the Internet gatekeeper. The survey found that 82% of parents said they were responsible for learning what they needed to know in order to protect their children.
“Parents need easy to use information to help them teach their kids to be Internet safe and smart,” Steyer says.
www.emarketer.com, 6/13/06; www.commonsensemedia.org, 6/7/06
PORNOGRAPHY
Net porn ranks high in England
According to a recent study of Internet pornography, a record number of people in England are downloading online porn. The findings have prompted concerns regarding the effect of pornography on both adults and children.
As summarized by the Daily Mail, an online newspaper in England, the study by Nielsen NetRatings revealed that:
• “More than nine million men, almost 40% of the adult male population, logged on to sex Web sites last year, more than four times as many as the estimated two million in 2000.”
• “The number of women downloading Internet porn soared 30% to 1.4 million.”
• “[M]en and women who visited such sites spent 40 minutes on average each month looking at images.”
• “One in four men aged 25 to 49 – around 2.5 million – had viewed online hard-core images in the past month alone.”
This addiction to adult Web sites could easily jump-start a demand for illegal child porn. More than half of all children are being exposed to adult images while online, and Internet porn is partially to blame for 40% of relationship problems between couples. Many see the increased downloads as fuel for the adult movie market.
For example, Britain now offers 6,500 adult movie titles, and British censors recently passed a total of 28 R18 movies within a week as compared to 25 for the whole year of 2000.
www.dailymail.co.uk, 5/29/06
RELIGION
Honor pastors, Sunday school teachers in October
Focus on the Family (FOTF) encourages people to express appreciation for pastors and other clergy in their lives, particularly during Clergy Appreciation Month in October.
“A simple card, an invitation to lunch, a promise to pray for them or an offer to babysit, wash a car or mow a lawn make wonderful statements,” says the FOTF Web site, www.family.org.
FOTF also urges churches to implement a more formal and corporate observance to honor their pastors and staff.
October 15 will mark the 13th anniversary of Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day, according to Gospel Light Publishers (GLP). GLP was founded by the late Henrietta C. Mears, one of the 20th Century’s great Bible teachers and curriculum writers.
GLP offers suggestions for ways to honor these unsung heroes of the faith. For more information call 800-235-3415, ext.1422 or visit www.mysundayschoolteacher.com.
Prayer TV makes national debut
Bill Keller, ex-convict turned preacher, hosts a Florida-based TV program boasting a quarter million viewers a night on major secular network affiliates in Florida. The show made its national debut July 3 on the i TV network (formerly PAX).
Keller served 31 months in federal prison for his involvement in an insider-stock-trading scam. In prison, he earned a B.S. degree in Biblical studies from Liberty University. He launched LivePrayer in 2003 as an outgrowth of his online outreach, LivePrayer.com. The TV format features the host offering prayer for and spiritual exhortation to his audience.
Orlando Sentinel religion writer Mark Pinsky observed that Keller must be doing something right to position his no-frills, one-hour midnight (ET) talk show on a major network.
www.agapepress.org, 6/15/06; www.usareligiousnews.com, 7/18/06
MPAA cedes to Christian concerns
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) recently made a decision in favor of evangelical Christians after the MPAA was criticized for religious bigotry by both the press and Congress.
The MPAA decided it would no longer categorize certain statements of faith or religious content as “thematic elements” that could initiate a PG rating or higher. That adjustment came as the result of an outcry over the rating given to Facing the Giants, a family-friendly film set to release September 29 in 400 theaters nationwide.
The MPAA gave a PG rating to Facing the Giants because of the movie’s evangelistic message that is highlighted in a scene in which a coach is heard telling one of his players that accepting Jesus Christ will change the young man’s life. (See photo at right.)
The MPAA received strong criticism, including more than 140,000 e-mails from AFA constituents regarding the unmerited reason for a PG rating.
Christian leaders, spearheaded by Dr. Ted Baehr and his Christian Film and Television Commission, also consulted with the MPAA and eventually received a significant concession from chairman Joan Graves on behalf of the ratings board for the MPAA.
“We are overjoyed that the MPAA has told us in a meeting with them that they will not use religion as a rating criteria in the future,” Baehr said.
A representative of the Commission also asked Graves to consider including evangelical Christians in the movie rating process.
www.movieguide.org, 7/24/06
Correction
The August AFA Journal reported a woman in Germany was told by state officials that she would have to work as a prostitute or lose unemployment benefits, since prostitution is legal in that country. However, the papers that originally carried the story in England were apparently wrong. German newspapers claimed that some women were put into such a difficult situation, but no real-life examples have yet been proven.
