Faith and Family

Faith & Family

"Just go to church on any given Sunday and count the number of ladies in the pews versus the number of men. The result? Well, you're suddenly slapped in the face with the cheap whiskey-like reality that men are avoiding church like [Nancy] Pelosi avoids reason. ... Church, for most men, has not only become irrelevant -- it has also become effeminate. ... The current lack of strong men within the Church ... has crippled our churches and has helped devastate our nation. ... If the Church and our nation want to recover their losses, we've got to draw men back to church. ... Toss in reason, competition, initiation, struggle, fun and a problem to spiritually throttle, and we'll be there... Blow off, suppress, and spiritually emasculate the environment of these holy testicular necessities and your church, as far as men go, will be more empty... If concerned Christians want to improve our nation biblically, then the Church has got to eliminate its effeminate drift and re-establish a masculine bent. Our times demand strong men; the Church must produce them, not repel them. The Church needs men who are not afraid of the secular thugs who try to keep Christians marginalized in a religious ghetto." --columnist Doug Giles

Faith, Family and a Retired Military Viewpoint

Faith & Family

"So it was a shocking turn of events [recently] when the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a long-standing civil rights group, added more than a dozen new organizations to their list of hate-mongering groups. Neo-Nazis? KKK-spin-offs? Muslim or Jew-haters? No. The new 'haters,' in this era of sexual license, are those who maintain that marriage has an intrinsic meaning -- the union of man and woman.... Crying 'hate speech,' the SPLC denounced 'anti-gay' groups for spreading 'falsehoods' that say children do best when raised by a mom and a dad, as opposed to two dads or two moms. 'Falsehoods' that support traditional marriage are now 'hate speech,' thrown into the same filthy bucket as KKK and Neo-Nazi ideology. ... As your children become old enough to discuss these issues, arm them with facts from scientific and religious perspectives. ... We should also teach our children to boldly proclaim -- in love -- their own faith. ... We know what marriage is. And no amount of lobbying or name-calling can change that truth. Our only shame would be to keep silent in the face of lies." --columnist Rebecca Hagelin

"In response to Mark Alexander's essay, 'Do Ask, Do Tell,' there are many disqualifying traits for military service; overweight, criminal record, et al. Homosexuality is one of the others. That is not a capricious, 'anti-gay' concept. Homosexuality as a lifestyle is unacceptable in the military role. Warfighting, as an occupation, has no parallel in any civilian endeavor. Period. The primary reason for disqualification, if known, is that homosexual concepts and practices do not incite trust. The contrary is more accurate. A suspicion of such behavior immediately creates distrust. It cannot be tolerated. Mission effectiveness is reduced. Open homosexual behavior, as a military practice, will destroy the effectiveness of all fighting units. It is not acceptable, and those that oppose it will not enlist. Is this, after all, the purpose of this Republic's leadership? To destroy the military? It does seem so, and the Republic itself, one step at a time." --milret

from the PatriotPost

Faith & Family

"Sadly, I don't think there's a government program that will turn around our culture's shifting attitudes about marriage. Unfortunately, perhaps due to our cultural distaste for doing hard things, negative attitudes are evident in our view of the institution itself. According to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, 39 percent of Americans now say marriage is obsolete. More importantly, 34 percent of Americans said the growing variety of family living arrangements is good for society, while only 32 percent said it didn't make a difference and just 29 percent said it was troubling. Count me among the 29 percent. The decline of traditional marriages and the families on which they are built is taking an economic, social and spiritual toll on our nation. Reigniting our culture's commitment to commitment -- even one that is truly daunting -- is the key to revitalizing our families and communities. Nobody said marriage was easy. But in every way you can measure what is good for people and society, it's worth the effort." --columnist Marybeth Hicks