URGENT PRAYERS/PETITIONS:
CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR PASTOR SAEED (Iranian-born AMERICAN pastor who just started an 8 year sentence for helping the underground churches in Iran) - "As Iran continues to abuse imprisoned American Pastor Saeed Abedini, its goal is now clear -- force Pastor Saeed to deny Christ.
As the Lord leads, please pray:
- For Pastor Abedini as he endures one of Iran’s most deadly prisons, potentially beaten and abused regularly, simply because of his Christian faith.
- For the pastor’s wife and family and the Holy Spirit’s comfort upon them.
- For the continuing meetings at the UN meetings in Geneva about Pastor Saeed.
- For the U.S. State Department to get involved in a significant way to obtain the pastor’s release.
PLEASE Continue to PRAY: "Libya Arrests Suspected Christian Missionaries ," February 16, 2013; "Four foreigners were arrested in Libya on suspicion of distributing books about Christianity and proselytizing, a Libyan police spokesman said on Saturday. Spreading Christianity is a crime in the predominantly Muslim North African county. The four were arrested in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday and are under investigation for printing and distributing books that proselytize Christianity. Police said they found 45,000 books in their possession and that another 25,000 have already been distributed. The suspects are from South Africa, Egypt, South Korea, and one holds both Swedish and U.S. Nationality. The U.S. Embassy in Libya has declined comment. "(Sources: CBS News, USA Today, Associated Press) [So much for the so-called "Arab Spring." - Stan]As the Lord leads, PLEASE PRAY: · For the timely release of the arrested missionaries. · For all who share God’s loving salvation in Muslim countries.
DECLARE YOUR SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE. Please SIGN THE PETITION BELOW to declare yopur support for the traditional marrriage definition of marriage and in support of an amicus brief to go to the Supreme Court as it considers a redefinition of marriage on Mon. and Tues., March 25th and 26th. Their decision on whether to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress in 1996 could be as pivotal to marriage and the family in America as Roe v. Wade was to the sanctity of human life in America. MOST IMPORTANTLY, please BE PRAYING EACH DAY for when Supreme Court reviews of this case (and Prop. 8 passed years ago in CA that made the traditional definition into law) on March 25 and 26. and for their decisions. https://www.truthinaction.org/index.php/the-affirmation-of-marriage/?utm_source=Truth+In+Action+News+List&utm_campaign=9d8fb2dcc6-DOMA+%231+AB+TEST+Length&utm_medium=email
- For Pastor Abedini as he endures one of Iran’s most deadly prisons, potentially beaten and abused regularly, simply because of his Christian faith.
- For the pastor’s wife and family and the Holy Spirit’s comfort upon them.
- For the continuing meetings at the UN meetings in Geneva about Pastor Saeed.
- For the U.S. State Department to get involved in a significant way to obtain the pastor’s release.
"Ideology, Not Science, Behind Redefining Marriage," Kayla Griesemer and Ryan T. Anderson; March 18, 2013[NOTE: This article is followed by a link to a VERY long legal discussion on the constitutionality of traditional marriage.]
Current research in favor of same-sex parenting is based on limited data.One study sample relied on data gathered at “entirely lesbian events, in women’s bookstores, and in lesbian newspapers.” Most relied on reports by parents regarding their children’s well-being “while the children were still under their own care.” Most social scientists have ignored the findings of Mark Regnerus (see Heritage discussions of his study here and here [go to website of this article to find links to these discussions and the study] ), whose study used a large and randomized sample of grown children rather than reports from a narrow selection of parents.This study found that children whose parents had same-sex relationships suffered more from excessive drinking, drug use, and lower educational performance and socialization than children of opposite-sex parents. It, too, has limitations, and more research is needed.
As Kass and Mansfield write:
As Norval Glenn wrote: "Given the widespread support for same-sex marriage among social and behavioral scientists, it is becoming politically incorrect in academic circles even to suggest that arguments being used in support of same-sex marriage might be wrong."
Social science motivated by politics and ideology should not be used by the Court to decide the legal question of the constitutionality of marriage. As Kass and Mansfield argue:
[Bold AND italicized portions my emphasis; underlined portions indicate links to be found when checking the weblink for this article.]
As Kass and Mansfield write:
"There could conceivably come a time when supporters of traditional marriage are compelled by scientific evidence to acknowledge that same-sex marriage is not harmful to children or to society at large.That day is not here, and there is not the slightest reason to think it is imminent. It is no less possible that scientific evidence will eventually show that redefining marriage…does have harmful effects on our society and its children. That day is also not yet here, but there is no basis for this or any other court to conclude that it will never arrive."Time and the lack of large samples prohibit academic research from making reliable conclusions on same-sex parenting. Claims of no difference between family structures are based on inadequate evidence, and, at least in some cases, ideology. Kass and Mansfield highlight late Senator Daniel Moynihan’s (D–NY) statement that “social science is rarely dispassionate, and social scientists are frequently caught up in the politics” surrounding their work.The current political climate has influenced much of the existing research on issues regarding same-sex parenting.
As Norval Glenn wrote: "Given the widespread support for same-sex marriage among social and behavioral scientists, it is becoming politically incorrect in academic circles even to suggest that arguments being used in support of same-sex marriage might be wrong."
Social science motivated by politics and ideology should not be used by the Court to decide the legal question of the constitutionality of marriage. As Kass and Mansfield argue:
"[C]laims that science provides support for constitutionalizing a right to same-sex marriage must necessarily rest on ideology. Ideology may be pervasive in the social sciences, especially when controversial policy issues are at stake, but ideology is not science."They’re right. Ideology is not science, nor should it be made law. The Supreme Court should respect the Constitutional authority of citizens and their elected officials to make marriage policy.
[Bold AND italicized portions my emphasis; underlined portions indicate links to be found when checking the weblink for this article.]
