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News headlines are the most immediate indicators of cultural drift. While they are inconclusive in themselves, they provide insight as to what issues make an impact on people's thinking. Headlines become the topic of water cooler and even playground discussions. That is why it is important for Christian parents to pay attention to headlines. Media headlines are written to attract attention, and they do. Your children will be exposed to headlines and sound bites because these are what people catch on the run as they rush through their day. Children will hear people asking what do you think you think about Tiger? And, of course, they will begin to find out about what people think from their friends at church, at school, or in the neighborhood. They will hear offhand comments by parents and other adults. Based upon these seemingly random series of connections, opinions will be formed and embraced, often without parents even being aware of the process. That is why headlines are important for parents.

Ardi, short for Ardipithecus ramidus, is the newest star in the field of paleontology.  Both National Geographic and The Discovery Channel are promoting this discovery on their websites and television programs.  This announcement is the culmination of research and studies that began in Ethiopia in 1994. Ardi has supplanted Lucy, the previous record holder of the oldest fossil with direct links to modern man.  According to the National Geographic website:

If you fly on an airplane or travel any distance by ship, your safety hinges on what is unseen. This may not sound accurate, since the pilot flying the plane looks through a window and the captain of the ship stands on the ship's bridge to view the waters ahead. But visual recognition, particularly on long journeys, is not the most helpful means of navigation. In fact, trusting what is seen in these situations often leads to disaster. (It is true that ocean-going ships can use the stars for navigation, but modern electronic positioning is the more dominant form.) For successful and safe directions on long trips in this modern era, trusting what is unseen is vital. For a journey to have a pleasant end, it is important to know where you are in reference to where you want to go. Determining the longitude and latitude of one's position is a safe way to determine where you are. If you use a GPS form of electronic navigation, the longitude and latitude coordinates are readily available from your GPS device. This topic becomes more interesting when you understand that these lines of longitude and latitude are arbitrary and unseen.

Some of you may recall the post "Landing on the Hudson: Whose Miracle?" It was written after the emergency landing of US Air Flight 1549 in the Hudson River this past January. There was, amazingly, no loss of life due to the competency and skill of the pilot and the quick reactions of first responders getting to the downed plane. The abundant news reports that followed credited this to almost everyone except the one who really was in control--God. However, if we are going to acknowledge God's power in preserving the lives aboard flight 1549, we must also acknowledge his power over flights that come to a less-than-desirable ending--in particular Air France Flight 447 that was lost off the coast of Brazil.

Thanks again to Jacob for his comment and question about marriage. Jacob begins by asking this question:

What I haven't been able to wrap my mind around is how "A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife" has been accepted in Christian circles as meaning a legal union recognized by the state, stamped on paper, with all the benefits that the government can throw at you for being married.

To answer this question it is important to understand our social history in chronological order. It is possible to look at our country and culture today and conclude that the church is seeking validation from the state with regard to marriage. But time and the decreasing impact of the church on our culture has blurred the lines between church and state. In reality the state first drew its understanding of marriage from the church and Scripture. Historically, in the United States marriage has been understood as an institution ordained by God for the good of all people. A reading of the literature concerning the laws of this country will leave you with no other conclusion. From the April 11, 1890, edition of the New York Times, we read this quotation, attributed to the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Jay: "But however they may be established there is nothing we look for with more certainty than the general principle that Christianity is the law of the land."

The ABC News program Nightline is running a series of programs entitled "Face-Off." Particular ideas or points of view are debated by proponents and detractors of the topic in question. The topic for discussion on the March 26^th program was "Does Satan Exist?" One of the experts on the panel that night was New Age guru Deepak Chopra. Chopra is a best-selling author and favorite speaker on public television. In his opening comments he forcefully stated that healthy people don't need Satan. He went on to claim that Satan is a mythical figure.

Chopra spoke with confidence, and with disdain towards those who believe Satan is real. His words, that  healthy people don't need Satan, bring to mind the words of Christ in Matthew 9:12: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."

Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel
       who alone does marvelous deeds. Psalm 72:18

No offense intended to the author of this blog entry, or for the one who asked the initial question, but, if Christians are so dead set against bullying, harassment, etc., then why do you constantly promote it towards GLBT kids? If you are so dead set against bullying, harassment, etc., against people per se, then why don't you come out against those who are doing the bullying, etc..., instead of joining in? The National Day of Silence is helping to promote peace between people who otherwise couldn't or wouldn't agree on anything. If Christians want respect, then they need to show it first. Thank you, Kyle - 19, Pennsylania

We received an interesting response to the post regarding the National Day of Silence. His comment and question appear above.

Thank you, Kyle, for commenting. First of all, I want to re-emphasize what was said in my post regarding violence and unkind treatment of others.  It is wrong to be hateful, to mock and hurt others, regardless of their sexual persuasions. Such behavior is simply not an option for Christians who represent Christ.