The Cost of Taking Religion Out of Law

Diane Robertson

Over the past 50 years, we have witnessed the loss of religion and religious values in the public square, in the laws, and in public schools.  These legal changes are most obvious in sex education laws, marriage and divorce laws, and abortion. Yet, changes are apparent in all aspects of the law. While religious values are slowly being removed from the law, the traditional family has seen a lot of break down and the social cost is real.

From a 2010 survey taken about attitudes toward sex and morals, we learn that 51.8% of all people polled believe that it is never wrong to have sex before marriage. In the same year, 40.2% of babies born in the United States were born to unmarried mothers.  These statistics are interrelated. The fact that forty percent of children are born to unwed mothers arises from the attitude that it is okay to have sex outside of marriage.

Children in single parent households have many more challenges compared to children coming from homes with married parents. Some of these challenges are:

• Boys are twice as likely to end up in prison before age 30
• Girls are 6 times more likely to become pregnant as teenagers.
• Boys and girls more likely to experience depression, behavioral problems and school expulsion.
• Child abuse is 10 times more likely in a single mother home with boyfriends coming and going.
• Children of single parent homes are most likely to grow up in poverty.

All of these things have a social cost. More government programs are needed to fix problems caused by removing religious values from the laws. Tax payers take over responsibilities that were once expected of parents.

The biggest threat to religious values in the laws has surfaced in the last decade: Same Sex Marriage. Where same sex marriage is legal religious values are set aside. Sexual freedom takes the place of religious freedom in every aspect of the law.

In 2013, the Supreme Court will have the opportunity to legalize same sex marriage in the United States. One thing the justices may want to consider is the cost of changing the law. Already the removal of religious values in exchange for sexual freedom has cost. The traditional family has suffered. Will more change brought by legalizing same sex marriage have a social cost? Will the traditional family suffer even more? I believe so.  Popular attitudes toward sex and sexuality have profound effects on children and the costs are very real.

 

 

Best Gift Under the Tree

As I look out my window of twinkling lights to the house across the street similarly clad, I smile.  I remember my good neighbor who would say to me every Christmas,

“The best gift under the tree is the family all wrapped up in each other!”

 And you know, he was absolutely right.  There is no greater potential for joy in this world than the joy of family love and security.  That is why we at United Families dedicate our lives to protecting it!  Every week we spend considerable time preparing educational materials about how to protect the family and why we think the home — where a mother and father and children grow together in character as they overcome the natural challenges of life — is worth protecting.  Today as my last alert for the year, I wish to share with you a couple experiences that fan the flame for my advocacy involvements.

It has been my privilege on a number of occasions to attend the World Congress of Families.  This Congress is held every year and its purpose is to assemble from many ethnic, cultural, and religious communities individuals who wish to affirm that the natural human family is established by the Creator and is essential to the good of society.  More than three thousand people come together to defend the family, and to discuss ways to guide public policy and cultural norms, that uphold the vital roles that the family plays in society.

A number of years ago it was held in Warsaw Poland and I was asked to speak on the importance of the mother in the home and her affect on the economy of the nation. I began my speech with the words, “As a mother of 13 children, I understand the importance mothers play in a healthy society.” I hardly got those words out of my mouth when the room broke into a thunderous applause. I was stunned for it lasted several minutes.  As I stood there looking into the faces of hundreds people from around the world, it became quickly obvious that they were not clapping for me, they were expressing their love for the family.  I could see and feel this great love in their faces. I also recognized that most of them lived in political and economic situations that would never allow them to enjoy the blessings of a large family, but they recognized the value of it just the same.  My heart went out to those people and I determined that with every ounce of strength and resource I had, I would do what I could to create a safe environment where families could flourish.

Time doesn’t permit me to tell you the many, many battles for the family we have won since that day of commitment!  But, we haven’t won them all nor will we in the coming years.  I realized something very important however, a few years ago when UFI was heavily involved in fighting for the Marriage amendment in CA.  I was having an interesting conversation with a man who couldn’t understand why I would donate such a large part of my life to protecting the family.  He had recently heard San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom say that gay marriage in the U.S. was inevitable.  He questioned me:  “Why do you fight the inevitable?”

The answer I gave him enlightened us both!  I said, “I do not see the battles we are fighting in terms of major political victories.  I know that from time to time we will lose protective language in the UN Documents.  And I know that an increasing number of states in the U.S. are going to fall prey to activist judges who want to redesign society by legalizing same gender ‘marriage’.  But that doesn’t mean that we are losing the war.  In my advocacy efforts, if what I say or do softens even one heart towards the benefits and blessings of family life, then I have helped make one home happier—and that is the battle I wish to win.  When that individual battle is won, there is created an additional voice to speak in defense of families.”

I hope that in some small way your life is made better though your association with United Families International.  I hope that our efforts educate you to the importance of the family and help you feel part of a growing number of people who recognize like you and I that the family IS the greatest potential for joy and happiness in the world today!  And, though it is difficult, it IS worth protecting and preserving.

As you are “wrapped up” in your family this Christmas, please think of us with a gift that will help us continue to preserve that critical joy in the world!  Thank You and

Merry Christmas,

Carol Soelberg
President, United Families International

ARE WE SLIPPING BACK INTO THE JUNGLE?

Maddi Gillel

A religious leader once stated that he feared that by ignoring traditional values in modern life, we are slipping back into the jungle.

That statement has stayed in my mind for years.  I try to visualize what we know about jungle life to what we are seeing in our culture.  As I am out and about my day in the city, I observe many people in the summer and winter, youth and adults, groups and singles. I notice cleavage; highlighted rear ends; vulgar and gross conversation and actions; a language that is fraught with slurs and slang; ‘devil-may-care attitudes; loud, boisterous and obnoxious behavior; and little regard for the comfort and consideration of others.

I want to say something right here and now and get it out of the way.  Cleavage is GROSS!!!!!! It looks like someone’s rear end. I wonder if women who show their cleavage realize that it detracts COMPLETELY from their face.   Hollywood, our nemesis, has glamorized cleavage until our society is on the verge of GAGGING, it is so much ‘in your face.’  Any questions?

I am also tired of bathroom language, encouragement of and laughter over bodily sounds and functions, coarse and vulgar language, and complete cluelessness about how to speak ENGLISH !!!!!  (Profanity and vulgarity are evidence of a weak mind trying to express itself forcefully – anon.)

The way people dress is atrocious !!! I am not formal in my dress and lifestyle, but I think wearing pajamas and slippers to the grocery store, or any other store, is going a bit far.  If you’re that trashy in public, what is possibly and horribly going on at home?

Public affection beyond hand holding, an arm across a shoulder, or a quick peck on the cheek, is GROSS!!!!  Do people who are carrying on in public think that we who are observing it think that they are the only ones who love someone deeply, or who can exhibit passion, or do they think that this somehow makes them Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  Oh, WOW!!!!!!

Those who are absolutely GLUED to their technology, no matter WHOSE company they are in, are practicing their skills at becoming social RETARDS!!!!!  These might be the same people who think school is for losers, so good bye to probable high school graduation, let alone college or vocational training afterwards, and a JOB following.

The rampant immorality in our society is also atrocious.  Let me see if I can think of an analogy . . . . . . . . . . Oh, here’s one – how about sticking your tongue into every person’s nose you see on the street.  I think that would pretty well sum it up. There are just some things YOU DO NOT DO !!!!! And the one that leads the list is sexual impurity.  Do you know how beautiful/handsome a virtuous woman/man is?  Their eyes sparkle, they walk with the grace of a queen/king, they are confident and happy.   They are beautiful/handsome no matter their looks, because of their virtue.

Illegitimacy – How would you like to be born to an unwed mother, who then probably must work and be away from you all day long, so that means that you’re being tended by strangers.  And then of course, at night, mom has to go out partying/dating.  That sounds like HELL to me.  Oh, you say that’s how you were born, so what’s the big deal?  Seriously, how did you like it and what has your life been like.  Civilized, virtuous people do NOT treat children like that.  They treasure children and nurture them and take very good care of them, which means their mom is fully engaged as well as their dad, who is married to their mom and went to school sufficiently to be able to provide for his family.

So, are we slipping back into the jungle?  Nope, we’re in the middle of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where Have We Gone Wrong?

Rachel Allison

I was wide awake at 4:30 this morning.  My husband came downstairs ten minutes later.  Neither one of us could sleep, and so we sat together and just talked.  Our conversation covered mixed topics, but I was surprised at how often we returned to the topic of the recent Connecticut shooting.  “Did you receive the email about mental illness?”  discussion…change of topic…

Then “I wasn’t able to watch the news yesterday.  I heard they were showing the faces of the victims. I can’t see their faces.  It’s too painful.” Discussion.  Change of topic.

Then “As I drove to the bank yesterday I was listening to Dennis Prager.  He asked his radio audience to listen to a rabbi and a Catholic Priest talk about the tragedy of the shooting, but before playing the clip he asked us to notice the one word that was carefully avoided.  I tried to determine what word he was referring to, but couldn’t. It was ‘God.’  Prager’s point? ‘How can we talk about a tragedy like this and leave God out of the discussion?’ We have become so sensitive to the far left’s godless agenda that we guard our speech so as not to “offend.””…more discussion…

I’m sure that our dialogue is not much different than most conversations at this time of unbelievable shock and sorrow.  We are grieving for the families of the innocent victims.  I can’t even begin to imagine the mental and physical anguish they are living right now.  We are grieving for our society where something like this can happen.  And I, like many, am grieving for a society that doesn’t understand the comfort, strength and peace that comes from a strong and solid belief in God. There are many who will ask, “Why did God allow this to happen?”  God does not allow this to happen.  Our society and our culture have allowed this to happen.

We have focused too long on political advantage. We have catered to the few who have learned to speak loudly and adamantly against God, virtue, and goodness. Too many of us who know better have allowed ourselves to be submissively silent…even when we fully recognize the faults of their philosophy.  When we unite our voices…when we stand just as strong…perhaps the Godless will listen and rethink their anger.  I’m grieving for them also.  How empty their lives must be.

One of the topics discussed with my husband early this morning was how to react with people who overconfidently verbalize their prowess on a subject when in reality they haven’t a clue.  Those who dismiss God are in this category.  There are too many facts…too much substantiated evidence.   Millions recognize His hand in their lives every day. I am one of those.

“Great truths are often violated by our speech, but they are also outraged by our silence, and made ineffective by our dullness and by our lack of confidence, faith and enthusiasm.”  Sterling W. Sill

Take Back our Homes and Families

Bobbie Jager

I am a mother of 13 children, and like you my heart is heavy from the shooting in Sandy Connecticut.  Our world is in a critical condition.  There are mothers and fathers tonight who have empty arms and our nation has been once again brought to its knees.   We as a nation have had devastating events though out history, but for me not one that has reached so deep into the heart of every mom, as this one.

I believe that it is time for the Mom’s of America to take back their homes, and their families.  We all know that the mother is the “heartbeat” of the home.  Let us consider how we can have that heartbeat heard.  I love the two words DELIBERATE AND DILIGENT.  That pretty much sums up our responsibilities of parenting.

We must teach deliberately.  Our children won’t learn it if we don’t teach them.  We must be diligent in our actions.  We need nurturing parents who have the vision of what their family will and can be, and then with deliberate actions and teachings, go forward helping their children understand their role and their duty in the world.  Women have power and influence on the world, and the greatest power radiates from the influence we have on our families. It is time for us to step back from being “in the world” and review what changes we can make to get our children and our families back on the path of greatness.

This country was created in the name of freedom – freedom for families to be able live safe and free.  We should not have to live in uncertainty, or fear.  Pessimism will not help us.  Let’s find ways through these “perilous times “to strengthen families.  We do not have to accept the way or conditions of the world.  We can remain active in our communities and work together to make our influence felt, despite any opposition we might face.

I am reminded of the scripture John 14:27

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

One of the first things we can do as families to gain that peace is to gather together, daily.  To encircle your family with your love and the security of time spent together. To talk openly about concerns, first seek to understand, and then work on a plan and solutions that meets the needs of your family. Go back to the basics of family life.  Remember that no success can compensate for failure in the home.  Our children come first.

I pray that in our hearts and our homes there may abide the spirit of love, of patience, of kindness, of charity, and of helpfulness.  This will enrich our lives and make the world brighter and better.  Be an anchor in your community so that others may be drawn to you and feel secure.  Be a diligent and deliberate mother so that peace may abide in our hearts and in our homes, that we may radiate sunshine and cheer wherever we may go, that we may prove to our families and the nation that we know who we are and what we need to do to regain our families, homes, and country.

Please Pray

Diane Robertson

Today in Connecticut, 20 young children and 6 adults died when a gun man opened fire in their school. Tonight, 40 parents will not be tucking their babies into bed. Tonight, 40 parents are not going to hear little voices saying “I love you.”  26 families are not going to have one more family holiday, one more hug, or one more meal all together. This is an immense tragedy.

One thing I have become certain about in my life is the power of prayer, especially the power that comes when a lot of people pray for the same thing. Tonight and for many, many nights, please pray for these families. Gather your family around you and say a pray for the people who have so tragically and so senselessly lost their loved ones. They need the power from on High. Please, please pray.

WHAT IS TRUTH? IS IT RELEVENT?

Maddi Gillel

Many years ago I had a neighbor that I was good friends with.  She had children who were my children’s ages and they played together a lot.  She and I would visit and talk about the hot topics of the day.  One day I realized that she didn’t know about truth vs. error- truth vs. falsehood – truth vs. lies, etc.  She was basing her opinions on what was popular, in the newspapers and on the news.

It is still one of the topics I think a lot about.  I have noticed that many people want to believe something so that it fits with their choices and philosophies in life, or justifies their lifestyle monetarily, or any of a bunch of believed lies. That is a formula for mental illness.  TRUTH EXISTS – and it is completely independent of who believes it or who doesn’t believe it.

I like to think of the LAW of gravity.  There are some (maybe many) who don’t believe in gravity, at first, and only once, so they think they can defy  it.  The consequences of not recognizing truth are immediate, usually painful, and many times fatal. There are laws of physics which are true no matter whether people even know about them. There are laws of right and wrong, which many choose to ignore, and as with gravity, the consequences can be immediate, painful and many times fatal.  These consequences may take longer than defying gravity, but they are guaranteed to be there. As Robert Louis Stevenson said “Sooner or later, we will all sit down at a banquet of consequences.”

The craving and need for truth is why many love the scriptures and religion.  They know that God cannot and will not lie and it is like having a greatly needed compass to navigate this difficult life.

Oh Say, What is Truth?

“Oh say, what is truth?  ‘Tis the fairest gem That the riches of worlds can produce, And priceless the value of truth will be when The proud monarch’s costliest diadem, Is counted but dross and refuse.

Yes, say, what is truth? ‘Tis the brightest prize To which mortals or Gods can aspire. Go search in the depths, Where it glittering lies, Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies. ‘Tis  an aim for the noblest desire.

The scepter may fall from the despot’s grasp  When with winds of stern justice he copes.  But the pillar of truth will endure to the last,  And its firm-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast And the wreck of the fell tyrant’s hopes.

Then say, what is truth? ‘Tis the last and the first, For the limits of time it steps o’er.  Tho the heavens depart and the earth’s fountains burst, Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, Eternal, unchanged, evermore.

John Jacques (1827-1900)

Another Kind of Storm Striking New York City

Ann Bailey

New York City is back in the news with another form of devastation plaguing its citizens, a kind that isn’t usually discussed in polite company.  According to a new report from the Department of Health, the spread of HIV/AIDS, syphilis, hepatitis B, chlamydia, and gonorrhea is “soaking” almost every one of the city’s neighborhoods.

Based on metrics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), of the 181 New York City zip codes tracked for disease, one-third of them were in the top 20 percent for multiple STDs.  Areas in the Bronx were the hardest hit with 68 percent of its neighborhoods in the highest percentiles for two or more diseases.  But the tony areas of New York City have certainly not escaped this scourge.  HIV/AIDS and syphilis both ranked in the top quintile in areas like Greenwich Village/SoHo and Chelsea/Hell’s Kitchen.  While only Staten Island – the area hardest hit by Super Storm Sandy – had no high-morbidity zip codes.

Yet New York City prides itself on its sexual liberalism and then tries to control the consequences through so-called “progressive approaches” to sex education and condom distribution.  Like the latest one called CATCH (Connecting Adolescents to Comprehensive Healthcare) where students at school can’t get an aspirin without parental permission, but they can receive birth control injections, condoms and the dangerous “morning-after pill.”

Oh yes, did I mention that New York City is infamous for having one of the highest abortion rates in the country?

All things considered, I have to ask NYC citizens and policy makers:  “How’s that sexual liberalism thing working out for ya?”

Dare to Discipline

Rachel Allison

As I was working with a group of eight to eleven-year-old children in my church this past weekend, I was disheartened at how undisciplined and disrespectful they were.  After a lot of “shushing” which brought no results whatever, I sternly reminded the children that disrespect and irreverence were not an option in the setting.  They stared at me incredulously wide-eyed, but then gratefully settled down to pay attention.

After the meeting I asked one of the young mothers working with me, “What is with these children that they don’t recognize when they are being inappropriate.”  Her response was definitive, “We don’t discipline.”  I looked at her in amazement.  “We don’t!  It has been pounded into our heads that we don’t spank, and no matter what else we do, we must feed their self-esteem. We’re raising a bunch of brats.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  “Amongst all my friends,” she continued, “there is only one mother who disciplines,… Natalia…and look how well behaved her children are.” Natalia is a soft-spoken tender-hearted woman who I would never have guessed to be a disciplinarian…but apparently she is doing something right with her five children because they are always respectful to peers and teachers.

Yesterday I was helping my daughter-in-law with a project.  Her infant daughter was sleeping soundly next to us when her two and four-year-old boys came running into the room playing and shouting.  Because she had told the boys just minutes earlier that they had to be quiet while near the baby, she kindly put them both in time out.  Then she proceeded to second-guess her decision.  I encouraged her disciplining.  “You weren’t too harsh. Even two and four-year-olds can be made aware of their actions and the consequences to those actions.”  Two or three minutes later, while happily playing again, her four-year-old reminded his two-year-old brother that they had to play away from baby sister.  See my point?

Consistency and follow-through matters

It’s frustrating to see mothers and fathers who say one thing, and then do completely the opposite.  “If you do that again you’ll be in trouble.”  The child repeats the offense and the offense is ignored, or the threat is also repeated.  Great parenting? Not hardly.

I will admit that some would say I disciplined too much.  In order to keep a semblance of sanity in our home we had rules for just about everything.  When rules were disobeyed there was “time out,” and yes, I spanked my children when I felt they needed it.  My adult children joke about the infamous wooden spoon I used to get their attention…often all I had to do was open the drawer where the spoon was found, and the inappropriate behavior stopped immediately.  It worked for us.

In our society today it is taboo for a parent to spank, but I remember being spanked by my father…and each time I thought, “I deserve this…and I won’t be breaking the rules or sassing my mom in the future.” I knew what was expected of me…the spanking helped remind me when I thought I was exempt from those expectations.

My daughters use “time out” or “privileges withheld” to discipline their children.  I probably should have used more of that, and less the wooden spoon with my  children…too late now.  But my children all turned out great!  (this coming from their mother…)  They aren’t perfect, but they understand why laws and rules are given, and they recognize that there are consequences to their actions. Our culture is in dyer need of its citizens…young and old, to recognize how to function appropriately in society. Most laws and rules are made to help those who can’t discipline themselves. How sad it is to see our prisons full of so many who didn’t learn to respect the rules of behavior in their youth.

Adherence to rules and respecting boundaries are best taught in the home where discipline is coupled with unconditional love and acceptance. Our homes are testing grounds that give our children the opportunity to “do over.”  Society and our judicial system aren’t nearly as merciful.  Come on moms and dads…dare to discipline. Keep focused on your duty.  Love your children enough to teach them the rules of behavior and the importance of self-discipline.

The Facts about Your Child’s School and Christmas

Ann Bailey

You can’t sing Christmas Carols or say Merry Christmas.  You can’t put up a nativity scene or read the Christmas story from the Bible.  You can’t do any of this at your child’s school? That’s what groups like the Freedom from Religion want you to believe and much of the population has bought into it.  But what are the facts?

The attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom have put together a fact sheet addressing the myths surrounding “Christmas and Public Schools.”   It is worth going to and reading the list in full.  You can see it here.  But here’s the short version:

• You CAN sing Christmas Carols at public schools
• A teacher CAN wish her students “Merry Christmas”
• You CAN put up a Christmas Tree at school
• You CAN read use the term “Christmas Holiday”

School administrators have been “brow beat” and cowed into thinking that the word “Christmas” has to disappear from our schools.  So have public officials who choose to remove a nativity scene or a “Christmas” tree from public places rather than stand up to the “secular police” and their legal bullies.

Don’t fall for it!   Encourage schools to maintain their traditions – no insist that schools continue their very legal Christmas traditions.  It’s a great time of year and your children should be allowed to enjoy it to its fullest.