Did you miss the two and a half hours of oral arguments on same-sex marriage at the Supreme Court last week? James Phillips, visiting assistant professor of law at Brigham Young University, does a great job correcting six mistakes that were made (in some cases by the Supreme Court Justices themselves). Error Number One: Massachusetts Marriage Rates Have Stayed the Same Error Number Two: Because Some Men Leave Their Wives and Children, Marriage Does Not Help Keep Fathers Around Error Number Three: The Purpose of States’ Recognizing and Regulating Marriage is to Bestow Dignity on … [Read more...] about Correcting Six Mistakes from the Same-Sex Marriage Oral Arguments Last Week
Practical Ministry
How Old is the Universe?
R.C. Sproul: To hear answers from the other speakers (and a great mix of views), see the 42:09-75:40 portion of this video. … [Read more...] about How Old is the Universe?
The Importance of Our Early Years
J.C. Ryle: Youth is the seed-time of full age, the molding season in the little space of human life, the turning-point in the history of man's mind. By the shoot we judge of the tree, by the blossoms we judge of the fruit, by the spring we judge of the harvest, by the morning we judge of the day, and by the character of the young man, we may generally judge what he will be when he grows up. -J.C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men (available for $0.99 on Kindle) … [Read more...] about The Importance of Our Early Years
Is Morality about Interference or Direction?
C.S. Lewis: "There is a story about a schoolboy who was asked what he thought God was like. He replied that, as far as he could make out, God was 'the sort of person who is always snooping around to see if anyone is enjoying himself and then trying to stop it'. And I am afraid that is the sort of idea that the word Morality raises in a good many people's minds: something that interferes, something that stops you having a good time. In reality, moral rules are directions for running the human machine." From Mere Christianity … [Read more...] about Is Morality about Interference or Direction?
Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be
Frank Bruni's new book, Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania looks great, especially for upper and upper-middle class parents currently biting their nails over whether Junior will get into Princeton. For the rest of you, let me explain: Over the next few weeks, tens of thousands of "fat envelopes" (acceptances) and hundreds of thousands of "thin envelopes" (rejections) will be mailed all across the country to high school seniors hoping to get into a couple dozen of the most elite universities. The belief is that if you get into one of these schools, … [Read more...] about Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be
Why the Attraction of “Fifty Shades of Grey”?
Why are millions of twenty-first century women drawn to a story about a rich man wooing, oppressing and humiliating a young, vulnerable woman? Don't we live in a day in which sexual assault on college campuses and domestic abuse by professional football players fills us with indignation? Ross Douthat explain this mystery: Viewed from one angle, the sexual revolution looks obviously egalitarian. It's about extending to everyone the liberties--the freedom to be promiscuous, to pursue sexual fulfillment without guilt--that were once available only to privileged cisgendered heterosexual males. … [Read more...] about Why the Attraction of “Fifty Shades of Grey”?