Help Stop Trafficking from Nepal to India

I recently discovered a mother and family (homeschooling with 6 kids) who has taken the grief of losing a little one (Tiggy aged 22 months) and turned it into sharing Jesus with some of the world's most vulnerable.  They are raising money to build a home for Nepalese girls (average age 14, but some as young as 6) who are vulnerable to or victims of the Indian sex trade.  Please visit their site to learn more about this terrible problem and to help out by praying and/or donating.


http://www.tiggyshouse.com/

Matthew 18 and Marriage

Many Christians are familiar with the following quote of Jesus' in Matthew 18.  But I have never heard of anyone using it in a marital situation.  My question is:  why not?

15"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

My mom's friend (I'll call her Veronica) from church is going through a very terrible divorce.  Veronica's husband (I'll call him Bob) had numerous affairs over the past 30+ years.  Two of the most recent affairs have been with a woman in foreign country while on a mission trip and with a woman young enough to be his granddaughter.  Veronica has been keeping all of this a secret for years because she wanted to save her marriage and help her husband.  While this is admirable, I think she might have had more success in those regards if she had told a couple of fellow Christians years ago and had them confront Bob.  If Bob did not listen to the friends, then taking the issue to the church does not seem uncalled for.  Then this sin could not have been hidden and who knows how many woman could have been saved from Bob's clutches. 


Yet I have never heard of anyone applying Matthew 18 to marriage problems.  But surely Bob sinned against Veronica.  So why do we never discuss following this plan with adultery problems or gambling problems or abusive situations or addiction problems?

Evangelism without Community

We had a good lesson from the youth minister at our church on Wednesday night.  It was about evangelism and how it has an aura of distastefulness in American churches.  One of the main reasons he gave is that evangelism is often feels (or actually is) contrived. 

Now before I go any further, I have to say that one of the reasons that we chose the church we did is that evangelism actually occurs.  The leaders participate in sharing the Gospel with the lost.  Actual people from the world give their lives to Jesus and are baptized instead of just people from the youth group who have been going to church their whole lives.

Now back to the point of this post.  I believe that one of the biggest hindrances to the overwhelming spread of the Kingdom of God in America today is a lack of community.  As a member of the missions committee, I get to hear stories of how whole people groups are converted to the Lord.  All of peoples that I know about are societies where the people live in community. 

What do I mean by community?  I mean a group of people whose lives are woven together on a daily basis.  I mean a setting where friendships and work and religious ceremonies and family are all tangled together. For example, the shepherd and the weaver have a relationship because they rely on one another.  Everyone in town knows your worst mistake because they were their when you did it but they still hang out with you anyway.  People who have done some hard things together often form lifelong friendships.  We Americans hardly have any of that.  We are largely disconnected from people outside our immediate family.  What connection we have is often tempered by technology; we often interact without actually being near the person. 

Let me give an example from my own life.  My husband has something of a community at his work with a Christian ministry.  I am forming something of a community with the Christian homeschool co-op.  But my husband and I aren't really in community with anyone as a family except in some respects with our small group at church.  And the people we are in the most contact with have knowledge of and are trying to live for Jesus.

When we lived in Phoenix, it was somewhat different.  We had no kids.  I worked at a landscape architecture office, and my husband worked as a bill collector and then in financial services.  We had lots of friends that were searching for the truth about Jesus and we were happy to share what we knew.  Two people were even baptized in our swimming pool.

But if I want my kids to experience evangelism, I will have to contrive something.  It might be going on a short term mission trip or involved in a ministry at church .  Or I could try to form a deeper relationship with our old lawn mower man since I know that he and his family do not have a church home.  Now I am not saying that any of these ideas are wrong or bad.  I am saying that they do not flow from my normal life.

In places where the Good News of Jesus flows through the land like healing water, there are already relationship channels for it to flow through. 

Intolerance of Kids

I heard recently on TV that Americans spend more time grooming that caring for kids.  Now as a homeschooling mom of 2 with a tiny sliver of my day given to grooming, that came as a surprise to me.  But really it shouldn't have.  With day cares and schools, fewer and fewer grown-ups are raising the fewer and fewer kids we are having.  Maybe that is why there is a growing amount of intolerance for kids in trendy society.

Instead of promoting family and kids, the trend seems to be to ban them.  Here are some examples:

McDain's restaurant banned kids under six in PA.

Some people want to ban babies from planes (or at least business class).

People are calling it "brat bans" and it may be the next big deal for vacation destinations.

At at least one movie theater, kids under six are no longer welcome except on "baby days".

Now I have been the parent with a melt-down kid and I have been the childless adult annoyed that a parent was allowing a tantrum in a theater.  But it still saddens me to read these things. 

Examples of unanswered questions

I thought I should clarify the last few sentences of my previous post.  "There is no platform to make concerns known. There is no platform for dialogue and debate. There is no platform to share new ideas gleaned from scripture. There is no fellowship in the Word only the dissemination of information and the acceptance of it by the masses."
In these sentences, I am referring to dialogue, debate, fellowship between the masses and the leaders.  In a church of 5000 people with about 50 leaders (elders, ministers, etc.), I realize that they can't all sit down and listen to each persons complaint, question, or concern as a group.  And I realize that on a one on one basis they are generally willing to listen to and study with individual members.  Our leaders are caring, god-fearing people as far as I can tell by my limited exposure to them.  The only one I have any kind of relationship with is the Missions Minister because I see him almost weekly as I'm on the missions committee. 

I have been thinking/praying about what would be a viable solution to this longing for open and frank discussion.  So far my best thought has been a congregational convention.  I know that several denominations have conventions.  Ours doesn't, but I thought that a congregational convention would be a breath of fresh air to me and would deepen the sense of body and community.  I would especially enjoy an open mic session where everyone could ask questions of all the elders/ministers and everyone could hear the response and follow up with questions of their own.  I think that this would increase the transparency of our church 100 fold.  It would allow members with similar questions to know that they are not alone. 

Here are some of the questions I would ask:

Why are we not allowed to actively promote 40 Days for Life as part of our pro-life ministry?  (I help found the ministry and I am still fuzzy on the answer to this question.)

How much of our $10,000,000 auditorium renovation is repair and how much of it is upgrade?  (In a financial responsibility small group study that was sponsored by the church in the run up to the fund-raising drive, this was one of the guidelines for spending in your family.  For example, are we getting a new TV because ours broke or because we want a trendy upgrade?)

How will the Christian university we are starting in Africa be different than a secular university in the areas of science, economics, history, government, etc.?

In the missions committee, we often discuss the "felt need" of a people group as a springboard to a ministry that gives our missionaries an easier tie to the people.  I think that one of the "felt needs" of Americans is weight loss.  Are we willing to look into being of service to our community in this way?
What are other felt needs of the residents of Tarrant County and how do you see us reaching out to people who feel these needs?

Why is the biggest celebration that goes on at this building on Halloween and called "Fall Festival" instead of at Christmas or Easter?  Why are the decorations at Christmas entirely secular with 6 trees and no nativity scene?

When the Wednesday night kids classes were moved to the chapel so the teachers could get their rooms decorated for Summer Spectacular (our VBS), why was Evan Almighty chosen as the movie for elementary students?   Is playing a movie that doesn't uphold the Bible as accurate really a wise thing to show impressionable kids?  Does this church uphold that a literal world-wide flood happened 4500 years ago?  (Our Summer Spectacular theme this year is Noah.)

Why doesn't our church take a stand against evolution by hosting creation science speakers especially when the Institute for Creation Research is only a few miles away?

In a recent sermon, the new minister mentioned that it was a Christian's responsibility to fight global warming, eat organic, recycle, etc.  This seems a dangerous road to be going down.  Much of the green movement is more concerned about "Mother Earth" than about people especially the poor.  Global warming (if it is occurring at all) is not likely caused by people.  Can you please explain further what this church's view is of these issues?  Would some of the leaders be willing to watch the DVD series Resisting the Green Dragon by the Cornwall Alliance and give your collective opinion in a future meeting? 

What are common lies taught to our kids by the public school system and what are some ways that parents can combat them?

I am sure I would have more as the answer to these came in.  Some of these questions are recent, but others I have been trying to get a solid answer on for months or years. 

Thanks again for your input.

Great New Book

I recently received Paradise Valley by Dale Cramer from Bethany House to review. It was one of the best books I have read in a while. I chose it as a book I would like to review because I really respect the Amish. This book is based on events in the 1920’s when the state of Ohio jailed some Amish dad’s for not sending their kids to the government run consolidated school. As a result, some of the Ohio Amish community seek freedom to raise their kids in the Amish way by moving to Mexico. Mr. Cramer shows how they stick to their beliefs and are willing to sacrifice for them. He shows their love of family and their willingness to work hard. After reading this book, I respect the Amish even more.


The story is focused on one family- The Benders. The Benders have been blessed with 13 children (one dead and one mentally challenged) but not all are equally fleshed out in the story. It focuses on the father, Caleb, and his 15-year-old daughter, Rachel. Though these two are the focus of the story you get glimpses in to the thoughts of many of the other characters.

One thing that I liked about the writing was Mr. Cramer’s truthful style. Strengths and weaknesses are given to all of the characters. He doesn’t sugar coat the harsh realities of the struggles the Benders face, yet this isn’t a heavy book that weighs down the soul. It is almost as though he has opened a window to Paradise Valley as it really was.

This is a first book in a new series about Caleb Bender’s daughters. I read the whole thing in a couple of days. I cared about the characters and wanted to see what happened to them. I also wanted to learn why they made the choices they made. I am really looking forward to the next one!

Filling in Transcripts

I have noticed a trend that is obvious in public schools, but is also lapping over into homeschools.  This is what I call transcript filling.  It seems to me that many homeschooling families give up the freedom of education that they once enjoyed in elementary and junior high when they get to high school.  They stop thinking about what they think is important for their kids to learn and start worrying about what the state requires.  They begin the process of what I've dubbed transcript filling.  By this I mean they start trying to check off the list of classes mandated at public schools for a "recommended" or "advanced" high school diploma.  They often do this with little regard for any level of mastery.  They also do this with little regard for the importance of the subject in the student's future life.  It is all about checking off stuff so that the kid can get into college.  That is the point that is so sad to me.  You can still get into college (good ones even) regardless of what is on your high school transcript.  I will give you an example. 

Let's say that my kids and I choose freedom.  Let's say that my son's transcript looks something like this.

4 English credits
3 Math credits (taken as dual credit at Tarrant County Community College)
2 Spanish credits
3 Science credits
1 US Constitution credit
1 World History credit (maybe related to ancient civilizations and the Bible)
1 US history credit
1 Biblical economics credit
5 Electives like cake decorating and marksmanship

With this transcript he would only be eligible for the "minimum" degree in Texas and would therefor not be able to get automatic admission to a state university like say Texas Tech.  But wait. . . He'll already have 9 college credits.  If he takes one more class and has a 2.5 GPA (that's 2 B's and 2 C's), then presto he is back into the automatic admission category. 

From Texas Tech's website for transfer students
ASSURED ADMISSION. If you present the required combination of transferable hours and GPA below, you are assured admission. GPA is cumulative for all transferable courses from all schools attended, and courses taken for grade replacement are used for GPA calculation only if the same course is repeated at the same institution where it was originally taken.

Transferable Hours	GPA Requirements
12 - 23 hours	2.50 cumulative
24 or more hours	2.25 cumulative

So it wouldn't have mattered if all we studied in high school was underwater basket weaving and the Bible, as long as he had a diploma and could take 4 community college classes with decent grades.

But let's say that your kid is bound for bigger and better things than Texas Tech.  Let's say that he is going to a private Christian college like Patrick Henry University.

The College requires that a minimum of 18 high school level courses be completed. The following courses should be completed prior to admission to Patrick Henry College:

• English: Minimum of four courses. To be well-prepared, students should pursue a well-rounded, college preparatory English program that emphasizes literature, grammar, and composition. Examples: grammar, literature, composition, speech, and debate. Please note: Competitive speech and debate may count for one English course.
• Mathematics: Minimum of three college preparatory courses, which must include: algebra I, algebra II, and geometry. Examples: algebra (I & II), geometry, trigonometry, pre-calculus, and calculus. To be well-prepared, students should take courses at least through trigonometry.
• Science: Minimum of two different college preparatory courses. Examples: biology, chemistry, and physics. It is preferred that students complete three courses and that those courses include labs.
• History: Minimum of two courses, which must include at least one comprehensive course in U. S. history and one comprehensive course in world history.
• Government: Minimum of one course. The course should cover material on local, state, and federal government.
• Foreign Language: Minimum of one course. Examples: French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Italian, Latin, or Greek. It is preferred that students complete two consecutive courses.
• Electives: Minimum of 5 courses. Examples include Bible, fine arts, logic, rhetoric, music, economics, geography, and computer courses, as well as courses in areas such as biblical worldview and apologetics.

It looks as though that my son's "minimum" diploma is just fine for them.

There are all kinds of alternatives for ways to get into college and there are all kinds of colleges to get into.  There is even one Christian college doesn't have any academic requirements and selects students based on other criteria.  It is called Rivendell Sanctuary.  Its students graduate with an AA degree.  Every university I have heard of, accepts AAs without question regardless of where the are from. 

So I don't understand why more homeschooling families with high school students don't pursue freedom.  Why not follow what interests your child?  Why not fill their days with subjects you actually think are important to their future?  Why just check off some list given to you by the government?  Maybe I will understand it more when my kids get to high school, but I certainly hope not.

Movies Worth Considering

I Want Your Money






You can find out more about this movie (in theaters now) by going to their website.




Blood Money is a documentary about the abortion industry and is now available on DVD.

The San Antonio Christian Independent Film Festival is starting October 23rd. This is the venue where people started to get excited about movies like the Widow's Might last year. Sybil Ludington is the one I am most interested in this year. Enjoy the trailer below.

Sybil Ludington Full Length Trailer from KICKS Ministries on Vimeo.

Raising Kids to Do Hard Things Day One

My husband and I just got back from the Raising Kids to Do Hard Things Conference in Dallas. It was a day and a half of presentations my Gregg Harris (father of Joshua, Brett, and Alex Harris). Friday evening had two sessions.

The first one was about why God commands us to do hard things. One thing that I thought was interesting in this session was his point that God has used the curses of Adam (struggle to provide) and the curse of Eve (struggle in bearing children) to bring about the good of a godly household. He also pointed out that sin is a problem of not really believing that God is good and wise and that his ways for our lives are good (for us) and wise. He reminded us that we are here to glorify God. He went on to explain that glorifying God means putting his goodness on display.

The second session was about the seasons of life. He used Jeremiah's instructions to the Jewish exiles to show that there are for seasons of life: 1) Individual 2) Householder 3) Elder 4) City Father. He said that whatever stage you are in you should focus on that and do well at it because it prepares you for the next stage.

I really recommend signing up if Mr. Harris is doing one of these conferences in your area. The next ones are in Atlanta, DC, and Orlando. There may be more beyond that. It is definitly well worth your time.

IndoctriNation Movie

There is another independent movie that is being made that I am looking forward to seeing. It is called IndoctriNation. You can see clips and the trailer here. (They aren't allowing embedding at this time.) This documentary ties the indoctrination of our kids in the public school system to the decline of Christianity in America.

One thing that the movie points out is that there is no such thing as a worldview neutral education. All education seeks to transform the mind not just with straight facts but with ideals. I think many Christians don't want to believe this. They want the broad way, the easy way to be the best way when it comes to education.

I know that people can send their kids to public school and end up with devout Christians. I also believe that this is only possible with intense re-doctrination when the kids are at home.

I also know that some parents have no other choice. But I would say that this number is far fewer than the number of Christian parents that send their kids to public school.

Thoughts? Comments?

Two Trailers Worth Watching

Today I came across two trailers that are worth looking into. The first is for an independent movie called BloodMoney. I can't embed it so you will have to actually follow a link to watch it. It is a documentary about the abortion industry from a pro-life perspective.

The second trailer is for a DVD series called Resisting the Green Dragon. Here is the blurb from the website.
And here is the trailer:

Any Lovers of Freedom

In reading why the Amish are exempt from this health care bill (they shun all forms of government money), I wondered how many Americans would be willing to give up all of their government benefits except those in the Constitution (armed forces, post offices, roads, and a few others). If you could sign up to forgo all government money (Medicaid, social security, welfare, food stamps, etc.) for the rest of your life in exchange for paying only 5% income tax and being left alone by the federal government, would you do it? I think I would.

Now you ask, "Who would take care of me when I get old or sick?" The people that God tasked with that: your family, the Church, and your community.

Swats

According to this article in the Telegraph, a study in the US has shown that swats (or as the British say "smacks") produce better citizens. The study was based on the answers of 179 teens.

Those who had been smacked up to the age of six performed better in almost all the positive categories and no worse in the negatives than those never punished physically.

I can't say that I am really surprised. Yet liberals and those who would shrink parental rights are only likely to be angered that the study didn't show what they wanted instead of rethinking their beliefs.

This is one of the reasons that I do not support the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and encourage you to look at ParentalRights.org.

Take a look at what is going on in Malta because of the UNCRC. According to the article, "Any provisions in the Maltese statute book that allowed corporal punishment and that could endorse child abuse had to be removed in order to come in line with international law, according to a British expert." Notice how (in the minds of these folks) international law takes precedence over the will and law of the Maltese people.

In Europe, there is a growing movement pushing for a ban in all countries. Nineteen European states have legally barred physical punishment in the home and another four are committed to doing so. Malta is one of the remaining four that has not taken any such steps.

Birmingham Planned Parenthood on One Year Probation

This news article made me glad/excited and sad/angry at the same time. It is an article about the video below (by Live Action) and the state of Alabama's reaction to it.





According to the article,

After the tape was released last year, state health inspectors reviewed clinic records and found that nine minors, ages 13-15, had received abortions without proper verification of parental consent since November 2008.

In one case, health officials said, a 15-year-old received an abortion even though the person claiming to be her mother did not appear to be and presented questionable records, including an expired Alabama driver's license. Inspectors said Alabama birth records show a different person as the girl's parent.

There were also concerns about reporting child abuse. One of the 13-year-olds who received an abortion reported starting having sex at age 12 and having three partners in the previous year. She was back at the clinic for another abortion four months later and said she had now had four sexual partners in her life.

"A reasonable person would suspect abuse or neglect of this 13-year-old child, based on the above," inspectors wrote. "Neither the Registered Nurse, the Medical Doctor, nor any other Center staff reported the suspected abuse or neglect to the authorities as required by law."

According to the Code of Alabama, minors must present clinics with a consent form and verify that the signature on the form is that of their parent or legal guardian. The code requires the minor to sign the form as verification, but the clinic's forms don't have a space for that.

I am glad that Live Action's Mona Lisa Project is making an impact. I am glad that the state of Alabama is taking action (though I think it should have been harsher than a 1 year probation).
But the thought of all these rapers of young girls not being brought to justice brings me to tears. The thought of a 13 year old having 2 abortions is so sad.

Please join me in praying prayers of confession and repentance for our nation.

The Blind Side

I am excited about this movie. I probably won't see it in the theaters because it is sooo expensive, but I am on the edge of my seat for the DVD to come out. One of the things that made me excited to see it was this article on One News Now. In it is this quote:

Bullock says thanks to the Tuohys [the family in the movie], who attend Grace Evangelical Church in Memphis, she now has "faith in those who say they represent a faith." Getting to know Leigh Anne Tuohy, says the actress, showed her that religious faith can be authentic. "She was so open and honest and forthright," Bullock shares, "and I said, wow, I finally met someone who practices but doesn't preach."

If you would like to see trailers or learn more about the movie, go to the official website here.

The Other Take Overs

It is interesting to me to see how many people are deeply concerned about the possibility of government taking over health care. My question is: How many people are equally concerned about the government take-overs of the past?

Education
God clearly puts education in the family sphere of authority. If families are negligent, education falls to religious leaders. Education was taken over by the government in the 1850's.

Farming
I never realized the extent of the government in farming until I watched King Corn. The government has farmers at their whim via water from dams, subsidies to either produce or not produce, etc. From the beginning, God has placed the raising of food in the hand of individuals. I think that this take-over has taken place so slowly it is hard to recognize. And government doesn't have complete control of farming, but it is not as free as it once was.

Marriage
Throughout the Bible and almost every culture, marriage was the realm of families and/or religions. This take-over occurred in the 1500's or 1600's and is so far behind us that few could imagine a world where government had no say in marriage.

Poor
God expected families, neighbors, and communities to take care of the poor. FDR brought his sector of society under the federal government in his New Deal. Having been one of the "poor" in this country, I can tell you that I ate better than many of you but had no money to pay bills. If I had been at the mercy of my family or my church or my neighbors, the situation would have been different. For one thing, they might have expected me to barter or work or volunteer in return for what they were giving me. I wouldn't have starved, but I wouldn't have had the biggest food budget of my life. There would have been people to hold me accountable and to treat me in a loving and understanding way.

Do any or all of these things bother you? If so, how much?

My Great Story Campaign

The National Down Syndrome Society has launched a campaign that I find heart-warming. It is called My Great Story. It honors the achievements of those with Down syndrome. The man in the picture above is Sujeet Desai. He plays 6 musical instruments and has traveled all over the world giving performances.

All of the people that I have met with Down syndrome have been such kind and loving people. It is such a sad waste that about 90% of babies suspected of having Down syndrome are aborted. One father has taken a stand to inform others about the beauty of people with Down syndrome and the sadness of aborting them.

ParentalRights.org Contest Winners

ParentalRights.org recently held a contest called PROclaim 2009. There were several winners. I am posting one, but I encourage you to go watch the rest of them here.

So Much of Interest, So Little Time

There are quite a few things that I found interesting over the past few days, but I don't have time to really comment much on them. So here is a list of the links with sporadic comments.

Principled Discovery has an interesting post called "Why School?". The summary paragraph was especially good.
Education is not just about preparing our children for a future we cannot anticipate, but also about creating that future. We can generally agree on certain essentials needed to function in our society, but at the same time differ greatly on what we want that society to look like. We are a nation deeply divided along political, religious and even cultural lines. Education stands in the crossfire because it is the tangible expression of our core values and we all have at least a vague understanding that whoever shapes education shapes our society, our future and our place in it.

Debra Medina is running for Texas Governor. This is a quote from her issues page.

The Constitution of the United States is a contract between "We the People" to form a limited federal government composed of sovereign states. It creates a republican form of government. Any power not expressly granted to the federal government is reserved for the states and for the people.

Like any party to a contract, Texas must stand up and push back against any attempts to abuse the Constitution or abuse the inalienable rights granted by our Creator.

As individuals, as parents, as families, and as Texans we must be courageous enough to say NO when Washington oversteps its bounds.

We Texans have always believed that the individual and the family are the foundation of America's greatness. We Texans know what's best for our families. We know best how to manage our lives, we know best how to raise our children, and we know best how to spend our money.

I found this picture of a kingbird attacking a fleeing hawk to be rather interesting.

Little Macie Hope is being touted as a miracle baby born twice. The first time was so that doctors could remove a big tumor from her back. The second time was the actual birth. Yet as American Vision point out, few new writers seem to take the time to ask the hard questions. Here is a quote from American Vision.
These types of procedures, as more people learn about them, could send the abortion industry into economic freefall. Here’s a question for the doctors who operated on baby Macie: Was the “fetus” a baby when you operated on “it”? Throughout one article I read, Macie was continually described as "the fetus". Why bother with an expensive operation on a “fetus” who is not really a human being until “it” takes a breath? Why weren’t the parents told that at this stage in the pregnancy, the tumor was just as significant as the “the fetus” since they were nothing more than a mass of cells?

It is kind of a sad age we live in when there is a website for pre-teens that want to learn about modesty. Yet I think that Secret Keeper Girl, may be on to something. From their FAQ page:
The findings of two years of study by an APA (American Psychological Association) task force state that music lyrics, Internet content, video games and clothing are now being marketed to young and younger girls. The smutty content of the marketing is linked to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression. Ironically, this early sexualization presented to young girls has “negative consequences on girls’ ability to develop healthy sexuality.”

Last but not least, is Thomas Sowell's latest article which is comprised of some random thoughts. Here are my two favorites:
When politicians propose some hugely expensive new program and are asked how the government is going to pay for it, a standard ploy over the years has been to claim that they will pay for it by eliminating "waste, fraud and abuse." At a recent town hall meeting, a citizen raised the obvious question: If you can do that, why haven't you done it already?

Upon learning that the Constitution requires a president to be a natural born citizen, a college student said: "What makes a natural born citizen any more qualified than one born by C-section?"

No-fault Divorce

Michael Craven of Center for Christ and Culture wrote a good article about the evil of no-fault divorce. I will share a few clips here, but encourage you to read the whole thing.

No-fault divorce is much more than just divorce; it is a legal tyranny that denies the fundamental right of due process to a defendant. Prior to no-fault divorce, the party seeking divorce (plaintiff) was required, by law, to demonstrate cause on the part of the other party (defendant) prior to dissolving the marriage, dividing the family’s assets, and destroying the two-parent structure essential for children. These measures provided strong legal protections—primarily to women and children who might otherwise find themselves abandoned by husbands and fathers who simply sought “greener pastures.” (You might think me overly hard on men here. Granted, both men and women can be guilty of abandoning marriages; however, statistically speaking, women and children are most often the victims.)

Under the system prior to no-fault divorce, the state was limited in its actions and intrusion into the private affairs of the family except in those cases in which one of the parties committed a legally recognized offense against the other. In the wake of no-fault divorce, the state has been given unprecedented access into and unconstitutional authority over what was previously sacrosanct: the family. Historically, the law regarded the family as a preserve of privacy that was largely off-limits to the government. It was what Supreme Court Justice Byron White (1962–1993) called the “realm of family life, which the state cannot enter.”



No-fault divorce is a social and legal atrocity that needs to be abolished both for the sake of families and children that have, for too long, been subjected to the tyrannical actions of family courts, and because it has encouraged, through law, radical selfishness on the part of narcissistic, self-indulgent spouses. What must be understood by Christians is that no-fault divorce functions as a direct enemy of the gospel of the kingdom by opposing the in-breaking reign of God and his desires for the family.

You can also learn about the myths surrounding no-fault divorce here.