LA Times----In a move that some called historic, the county’s oldest African
American civil rights group voted Saturday to endorse same-sex marriage.
The
National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People passed a
resolution supporting gay marriage at a meeting of its board of
directors in Miami, saying it opposed any policy or legislative
initiative that “seeks to codify discrimination or hatred into the law
or to remove the constitutional rights of LGBT citizens.”
Directors
of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force erupted in applause at their
board meeting Saturday as their phones buzzed with the news.
“Today is a historic day,”
Rea Carey, executive director of the task force, said a phone interview
from Seattle. “This is what leadership looks like in this country.”
The vote marks a national turning point on the issue of gay marriage. President Obama announced this month that he supports gay marriage. A Gallup Poll
last year found, for the first time in the poll’s history, that a
majority of Americans supported the legalization of gay marriage, 53% to
45%.
This year, the poll showed 50% supported it, while 48% opposed it.
“Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law,” Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the 103-year-old NAACP said in a statement.
“The
NAACP’s support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the 14th
Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all
people.”
Still, it may be a long time before the entire community joins in support.
Many African Americans oppose same-sex marriage, viewing it as a religious matter, not a civil rights issue.
Last October, a Pew Forum poll found that 62% of African American Protestants opposed gay marriage.
In Maryland, activists have been appealing to African Americans to support an initiative to overturn a gay marriage bill.
In California, support from African Americans was widely seen as a major factor contributing to the passage of Proposition 8,
which banned same-sex marriage in 2008. A Los Angeles Times poll in
2009 found that 54% of African American voters in California opposed
same-sex unions and 37% supported them.
Some observers said the NAACP’s endorsement had public health, as well as political, ramifications.
Read More From LA Times
Monday, May 21, 2012
Report Shows Most Singles Have Love And Dating Backwards
CHRISTIAN POST----Last year, one of the world's largest online dating sites released
results of a survey they took of 5,200 singles. Said to be the most
comprehensive poll of its type ever taken, the survey of 21- to
65-year-olds (and older) reported that (i):
• 72% of singles would live with someone in the future without marrying.
• 36% of singles are open to a casual "hook-up" in the near future, and 54% reported they have had a one-night stand.
• 76% of single men and 77% of women ages 21–34 were no longer virgins.
The results plainly portray the challenging cultural terrain today's Christian singles navigate when dating. Carolyn was one such sojourner. Hurting and confused, she called me on "Hope in the Night" a few months ago, explaining that she was involved with a man who was in the "process of getting a divorce." In other words, she was dating a married man.
As our conversation progressed, it became clear that Carolyn, like so many Christian singles, didn't understand the true meaning of love. In fact, her concept was completely backward.
While the English language has only one word for love, the Greek language features multiple words with multiple meanings (ii). Understanding what love truly means is critical in order to enjoy a healthy, Christ-centered dating relationship. Let's look more closely at three types of love expressed in the Greek language.
1) Eros is passionate, romantic love, but it can also represent the feeling of strong emotion without a romantic focus. Eros within marriage is designed by God for physical and emotional pleasure. Eros within a dating relationship is designed to be morally pure and without passionate lust. You can have passion for a person without passionate lust, aware that physical purity is necessary for spiritual purity.
2) Phileo is affectionate love, brotherly love, and mutual enjoyment. Phileo is true friendship—the love of "liking." When Jesus wept following the death of His dear friend Lazarus, the onlookers remarked, "See how he loved (phileo) him!" (John 11:36). It can also refer to love for another that is as deep as the love for oneself. For example, I Samuel 18:1 says, "After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself."
3) Agape is unselfish love, unconditional love—a commitment to seek the best and highest good for another person, regardless of any response. Agape love originates with God. First John 4:10–11 says, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Here's the problem. Most dating starts with eros. In fact, many couples never move beyond this phase. Those who do move past "romantic" love typically move to phileo, the affectionate love of genuinely liking. This route, however, rarely leads to agape—unconditional love that seeks what is in the best interest of the other person—because it's hijacked along the way by selfishness, lust, or any number of other relational roadblocks.
The eros-phileo-agape progression of most dating relationships is not only ineffective . . . it's unbiblical. All relationships, dating and otherwise, should begin with a love that seeks the highest good for the other person . . . agape love.
God's plan for dating relationships is just the opposite, progressing from the inside out—from agape love to phileo and then, possibly, to eros. Following this "inside out" progression helps keep a couple from being consumed by erotic emotion.
Carolyn and I talked at length that night about the real meaning of love and the need to back out of her bond with her boyfriend. I readily acknowledged that taking this difficult route would be painful.
But, in reality, Carolyn would face pain either way—whether she left the relationship or didn't. Only by departing, however, could she later experience God's lasting inner peace and position herself for His guidance in relationships that would be healthy and pleasing in His sight.
If a country were populated solely with America's single adults, it would be the world's 14th largest nation (iii). This explains why we all have "Carolyns" in our lives—single friends and family members looking for love, but in all the wrong places. To minister to this great need, it's important to:
• Hold fast to Biblical standards. Though we no longer live in a society where purity is revered—and, in fact, is often mocked, especially for "consenting adults"—we must proclaim Scriptural principles, regardless of their popularity.
• Model lives of authentic love, sexual purity, and integrity. Loving "from the inside out" is something God calls all of His children to do—not just those who are in dating relationships. Opportunities to practice this kind of love present themselves daily in each of our lives…in our homes, churches, workplaces and with our clients.
• Help the singles in your world embrace the hope that they, too, can begin "loving well"—despite their past. Our culture overflows with hurting people who have "blown it" in the areas of dating and purity. It's easy to for them to lose hope and feel like damaged goods. We have the extraordinary privilege of reminding them that, "with God, all things are possible" . . . including a fresh, new beginning of "dating with Christ at the center."
Read More from Christian Post
• 72% of singles would live with someone in the future without marrying.
• 36% of singles are open to a casual "hook-up" in the near future, and 54% reported they have had a one-night stand.
• 76% of single men and 77% of women ages 21–34 were no longer virgins.
The results plainly portray the challenging cultural terrain today's Christian singles navigate when dating. Carolyn was one such sojourner. Hurting and confused, she called me on "Hope in the Night" a few months ago, explaining that she was involved with a man who was in the "process of getting a divorce." In other words, she was dating a married man.
As our conversation progressed, it became clear that Carolyn, like so many Christian singles, didn't understand the true meaning of love. In fact, her concept was completely backward.
While the English language has only one word for love, the Greek language features multiple words with multiple meanings (ii). Understanding what love truly means is critical in order to enjoy a healthy, Christ-centered dating relationship. Let's look more closely at three types of love expressed in the Greek language.
1) Eros is passionate, romantic love, but it can also represent the feeling of strong emotion without a romantic focus. Eros within marriage is designed by God for physical and emotional pleasure. Eros within a dating relationship is designed to be morally pure and without passionate lust. You can have passion for a person without passionate lust, aware that physical purity is necessary for spiritual purity.
2) Phileo is affectionate love, brotherly love, and mutual enjoyment. Phileo is true friendship—the love of "liking." When Jesus wept following the death of His dear friend Lazarus, the onlookers remarked, "See how he loved (phileo) him!" (John 11:36). It can also refer to love for another that is as deep as the love for oneself. For example, I Samuel 18:1 says, "After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself."
3) Agape is unselfish love, unconditional love—a commitment to seek the best and highest good for another person, regardless of any response. Agape love originates with God. First John 4:10–11 says, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Here's the problem. Most dating starts with eros. In fact, many couples never move beyond this phase. Those who do move past "romantic" love typically move to phileo, the affectionate love of genuinely liking. This route, however, rarely leads to agape—unconditional love that seeks what is in the best interest of the other person—because it's hijacked along the way by selfishness, lust, or any number of other relational roadblocks.
The eros-phileo-agape progression of most dating relationships is not only ineffective . . . it's unbiblical. All relationships, dating and otherwise, should begin with a love that seeks the highest good for the other person . . . agape love.
God's plan for dating relationships is just the opposite, progressing from the inside out—from agape love to phileo and then, possibly, to eros. Following this "inside out" progression helps keep a couple from being consumed by erotic emotion.
Carolyn and I talked at length that night about the real meaning of love and the need to back out of her bond with her boyfriend. I readily acknowledged that taking this difficult route would be painful.
But, in reality, Carolyn would face pain either way—whether she left the relationship or didn't. Only by departing, however, could she later experience God's lasting inner peace and position herself for His guidance in relationships that would be healthy and pleasing in His sight.
If a country were populated solely with America's single adults, it would be the world's 14th largest nation (iii). This explains why we all have "Carolyns" in our lives—single friends and family members looking for love, but in all the wrong places. To minister to this great need, it's important to:
• Hold fast to Biblical standards. Though we no longer live in a society where purity is revered—and, in fact, is often mocked, especially for "consenting adults"—we must proclaim Scriptural principles, regardless of their popularity.
• Model lives of authentic love, sexual purity, and integrity. Loving "from the inside out" is something God calls all of His children to do—not just those who are in dating relationships. Opportunities to practice this kind of love present themselves daily in each of our lives…in our homes, churches, workplaces and with our clients.
• Help the singles in your world embrace the hope that they, too, can begin "loving well"—despite their past. Our culture overflows with hurting people who have "blown it" in the areas of dating and purity. It's easy to for them to lose hope and feel like damaged goods. We have the extraordinary privilege of reminding them that, "with God, all things are possible" . . . including a fresh, new beginning of "dating with Christ at the center."
Read More from Christian Post
MTV's New Show "My First" To Show Young People Losing Their Virginity
BREITBART----A tipster sent this to me this morning and after clicking the link, I -- the guy who thought he had seen it all from our pop culture overlords -- literally gasped:
DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THINGS TO THE NEXT LEVEL? LIKE, ARE YOU READY TO HAND OVER YOUR V CARD? OR DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND WHO IS READY TO LOSE IT?
Young adulthood is a time for exploration. New relationships, fresh experiences and sexual firsts…
Now MTV is looking to frankly capture that journey in a new series called My First…We’re looking for adults who are ready to go all the way. Let MTV come along on your journey… as you try to lose your virginity! (Note: We will be filming whether or not you accomplish this goal… but NOT the act itself. Duh.)
If you are 18 years or older and are willing to candidly allow MTV to accompany you on the journey toward “losing it,” please send us an email.
MTV can and undoubtedly will hide behind the fact that 18
year-olds are legal adults, but you can prey on adults just as easily as
you can prey on children, especially young adults conditioned by pop
culture outlets like MTV to believe celebrity and narcissism are
virtues.
And the bait here is celebrity. Debase yourselves for our
cameras and we'll make you a star! This isn't about love or finding love
or even losing your innocence to someone you love. This is about the
lie that...
Young adulthood is a time for exploration. New relationships, fresh experiences and sexual firsts…
I seem to remember when we were the kind of culture that
protected young people from the indignities of loveless sex and did
everything in our power to educate about the financial, emotional, and
medical pitfalls of leading with your sexuality over your heart.
What MTV is doing might be legal but it's still a sleazy
exploitation of some of our most vulnerable citizens. And the dangling
of celebrity and a camera from a swanky studio lot is no different than
dangling candy and a camera from your open raincoat.
White House Strong Objects To New Legislation Protecting Military Chaplins From Being Forced To Perform Same Sex Marriages
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration “strongly objects” to
provisions in a House defense authorization bill that would prohibit the
use of military property for same-sex “marriage or marriage-like”
ceremonies, and protect military chaplains from negative repercussions
for refusing to act against their consciences, as, for example, in being
ordered to perform a same-sex marriage ceremony.
In a policy statement released Wednesday, the White House Office of Management and Budget outlined numerous objections to aspects of the fiscal year 2013 National Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 4310). The bill was reported out of the House Armed Services Committee last week and is set to be debated in the House, beginning Wednesday. (See related story)
Overall, it recommends that President Obama veto H.R. 4310 if its cumulative effects “impede the ability of the Administration to execute the new defense strategy and to properly direct scarce resources.”
The veto warning is not specifically linked to the two provisions dealing with marriage, but they are listed among parts of the bill which the administration finds objectionable.
The memo said the two provisions “adopt unnecessary and ill-advised policies that would inhibit the ability of same-sex couples to marry or enter a recognized relationship under State law.”
Section 536 of H.R. 4310 states in part that no member of the armed forces may “direct, order, or require a chaplain to perform any duty, rite, ritual, ceremony, service, or function that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the chaplain, or contrary to the moral principles and religious beliefs of the endorsing faith group of the chaplain.”
Further, no member of the armed forces may “discriminate or take any adverse personnel action against a chaplain, including denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment, on the basis of the refusal by the chaplain to comply with a direction, order, or requirement” that is prohibited by the previous clause.
The OMB complained that, “in its overbroad terms,” section 536 “is potentially harmful to good order and discipline.”
Section 537 of H.R. 4310 states that “[a] military installation or other property owned or rented by, or otherwise under the jurisdiction or control of, the Department of Defense may not be used to officiate, solemnize, or perform a marriage or marriage-like ceremony involving anything other than the union of one man with one woman.”
That provision, the OMB said in the memo, would make it obligatory for the department “to deny Service members, retirees, and their family members access to facilities for religious ceremonies on the basis of sexual orientation, a troublesome and potentially unconstitutional limitation on religious liberty.”
Read More From CNS News
In a policy statement released Wednesday, the White House Office of Management and Budget outlined numerous objections to aspects of the fiscal year 2013 National Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 4310). The bill was reported out of the House Armed Services Committee last week and is set to be debated in the House, beginning Wednesday. (See related story)
Overall, it recommends that President Obama veto H.R. 4310 if its cumulative effects “impede the ability of the Administration to execute the new defense strategy and to properly direct scarce resources.”
The veto warning is not specifically linked to the two provisions dealing with marriage, but they are listed among parts of the bill which the administration finds objectionable.
The memo said the two provisions “adopt unnecessary and ill-advised policies that would inhibit the ability of same-sex couples to marry or enter a recognized relationship under State law.”
Section 536 of H.R. 4310 states in part that no member of the armed forces may “direct, order, or require a chaplain to perform any duty, rite, ritual, ceremony, service, or function that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the chaplain, or contrary to the moral principles and religious beliefs of the endorsing faith group of the chaplain.”
Further, no member of the armed forces may “discriminate or take any adverse personnel action against a chaplain, including denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment, on the basis of the refusal by the chaplain to comply with a direction, order, or requirement” that is prohibited by the previous clause.
The OMB complained that, “in its overbroad terms,” section 536 “is potentially harmful to good order and discipline.”
Section 537 of H.R. 4310 states that “[a] military installation or other property owned or rented by, or otherwise under the jurisdiction or control of, the Department of Defense may not be used to officiate, solemnize, or perform a marriage or marriage-like ceremony involving anything other than the union of one man with one woman.”
That provision, the OMB said in the memo, would make it obligatory for the department “to deny Service members, retirees, and their family members access to facilities for religious ceremonies on the basis of sexual orientation, a troublesome and potentially unconstitutional limitation on religious liberty.”
Read More From CNS News
Teacher Tells Student He Can Be Arrested For Talking Bad About Obama
THE BLAZE----Last Monday, a high school student in North Carolina engaged his
social studies teacher in a heated debate about politics and the two
leading presidential candidates. During the exchange, the teacher (an
obvious Obama supporter) got very angry with the student and accused him
of disrespecting the president. She even went so far as to tell the boy
that he could be jailed for speaking ill of Obama.
Sarah Campbell of the Salisbury Post first reported on the story. She claims that the school district is not releasing the name of the teacher and that she is not responding to requests for public comment (although the two students identified her to the newspaper). According to Campbell’s story, the teacher will not be suspended or even face disciplinary action for what was heard on the recording. A statement from the school was released at the end of the week:
Read More from The Blaze
Sarah Campbell of the Salisbury Post first reported on the story. She claims that the school district is not releasing the name of the teacher and that she is not responding to requests for public comment (although the two students identified her to the newspaper). According to Campbell’s story, the teacher will not be suspended or even face disciplinary action for what was heard on the recording. A statement from the school was released at the end of the week:
“The Rowan-Salisbury School System expects all students and employees to be respectful in the school environment and for all teachers to maintain their professionalism in the classroom. This incident should serve as an education for all teachers to stop and reflect on their interaction with students. Due to personnel and student confidentiality, we cannot discuss the matter publicly.”So, how bad was the exchange? It got fairly heated, with the teacher shouting at times. The kerfuffle started after one student asked a question about the teacher’s “fact of the day” that said Romney was a bully back in high school. A student asked:
“Didn’t Obama bully somebody, though?”The teacher started to get angry and said:
“Not to my knowledge.”A couple of students relayed the story about Obama admitting that he bullied someone when he was younger. And that seemed to light the fuse on his teacher’s anger. A couple of the students exchanged words with the angry teacher.
“Stop! Stop! Because there’s no comparison. He’s running for president. Obama is the president.”As one student attempted to argue for a fair, two-sided debate on the history of the candidates, he was shouted down and talked over by the teacher. She continued:
“You got to realize, this man is wanting to be what Obama is. There’s no comparison.”Once again, the students pressed for equal discussion of the histories of both men, with one saying:
“If you’re gonna talk trash about one side, you gotta talk trash about the other.”The teacher just seemed to dig her heels in deeper and press her defense of Obama telling the defiant teen:
“You will not disrespect the president of the United States in this classroom.”Again the student persisted and invoked his First Amendment right.
“I’ll say what I want.”The still unidentified teacher read the student her rules…her Obama rules.
“Not about him, you won’t!”The back and forth continued and the most strident of the two students reminded his teacher that President Bush was constantly treated to negative statements about him while he was in office:
“Whenever Bush was president, everybody talked sh-t about him.”To which the teacher responded:
“Because he was sh-tty.”The social studies educator went on for a full minute with more ranting, saying that people were arrested for saying derogatory things about President Bush. The student correctly reminded the teacher that opinions are protected, but you cannot be arrested unless you threaten the president.
Read More from The Blaze
Celebrate Recovery Program Helping Prison Inmates In York PA Find Christ
York PA--Merle Weaver said some York
County Prison inmates stumble when they are released and begin thinking
they can make it on their own. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -- CHRIS DUNN)York, PA -
Merle Weaver was facing trial on federal gun charges. His father-in-law had just died.
And he lost his business, a gun shop in West Manchester Township.
It was early 2004 and Weaver, now 45, was at his nadir. That's when a friend asked him to attend a marriage retreat sponsored by Christ American Baptist Church (CABC) in Jackson Township.
"I said, 'I don't need no marriage retreat. I need a few good lawyers,'" Weaver recalled.
The Weavers, Merle and his wife Christy, attended the weekend retreat and, on Jan. 25, 2004, they accepted Jesus Christ into their lives. They were baptized at CABC before Merle went to prison for about 30 months.
the North Codorus Township couple have rebuilt their lives on Christian principles. In 2010, Merle decided it was time to reach out to York County Prison inmates who might be traveling similar roads.
Today, he leads a Celebrate Recovery program on Wednesday nights at the prison. The condensed, 10-week program is a faith-based effort to address substance abuse issues.
"It's kind of like AA with a Christ-centered program," Merle said. "We tell them if they don't want to hear the word of God, there's the door. They all stay."
Celebrate Recovery and similar programs help to reduce recidivism, Warden Mary Sabol said.
"We've made it our priority to work with volunteers in our community to enhance our re-entry services," she said. "One of the biggest reasons they return to the facility is the lack of ability to function once they get on the outside."
Read More From York Daily Record
And he lost his business, a gun shop in West Manchester Township.
It was early 2004 and Weaver, now 45, was at his nadir. That's when a friend asked him to attend a marriage retreat sponsored by Christ American Baptist Church (CABC) in Jackson Township.
"I said, 'I don't need no marriage retreat. I need a few good lawyers,'" Weaver recalled.
The Weavers, Merle and his wife Christy, attended the weekend retreat and, on Jan. 25, 2004, they accepted Jesus Christ into their lives. They were baptized at CABC before Merle went to prison for about 30 months.
the North Codorus Township couple have rebuilt their lives on Christian principles. In 2010, Merle decided it was time to reach out to York County Prison inmates who might be traveling similar roads.
Today, he leads a Celebrate Recovery program on Wednesday nights at the prison. The condensed, 10-week program is a faith-based effort to address substance abuse issues.
"It's kind of like AA with a Christ-centered program," Merle said. "We tell them if they don't want to hear the word of God, there's the door. They all stay."
Celebrate Recovery and similar programs help to reduce recidivism, Warden Mary Sabol said.
"We've made it our priority to work with volunteers in our community to enhance our re-entry services," she said. "One of the biggest reasons they return to the facility is the lack of ability to function once they get on the outside."
Read More From York Daily Record
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