HHS unable to determine who has paid for Obamacare; Feminist Studies Prof Accused of Assaulting Teenage Prolife Demonstrator; Hagia Sophias: From museums to mosques...more

17 Things Every Christian Parent Must Do
In the preface to his book entitled The Upper Room, J.C. Ryle writes these words about the compilation of articles that will follow: “All of them, I venture humbly to think, will be found to contain some useful truths for the times, and words in season.”

Those words were written back in 1887 and yet, reading them in 2014, it is as though they were written for today—applicable truths for this time, and needed words in this season. One of the articles in this book that impacted my heart most is an article written for parents about how to raise our children in the way they should go. It’s a wonderful article full of convicting truth, but in every way seasoned with grace, intended to encourage, and full of hope.

Ryle calls the article The Duties of Parents, but I wonder, if he were one of our contemporaries and was writing today, perhaps J.C. Ryle would contribute to a blog and would have called this article 17 Things Every Christian Parent Must Do...

HHS unable to determine who has paid for Obamacare health insurance plans
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a House panel Wednesday that nobody knows how many Obamacare enrollees have actually paid their health insurance bills.

“People are buying a product in the private market,” Sebelius told the House Ways and Means Committee, which was holding a hearing on the 2015 HHS budget. “As soon as we have accurate information, we will give it to you. But we do not currently have information about how many people have paid.”...

Feminist Studies Professor Accused of Assaulting Teenage Prolife Demonstrator ...The professor at the heart of the controversy is Mireille Miller-Young, an associate professor whose area of emphasis is black cultural studies, pornography and sex work, according to her faculty webpage. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday by The College Fix...

Wesley J. Smith: Pushing polyamorous genetic-related babies
The bioethics movement grows ever more radical. In the reproductive field, many activists promote a near-absolute right to have a baby, the kind of baby we want, via any means we desire.

The UK’s John Harris is a major voice in utilitarian bioethics discourse, who believes that killing so-called human non persons is A-OK. He has now written in favor of creating children using a process known as IVG–in vitro gametes–using stem cells to create eggs and sperm, and then fertilizing via IVF.

Harris extols the possibilities. For example, a single person could “self breed,” making a baby with only their own cells. Another use would be by same sex couples who could both be genetically related to a baby, rather than only one...

Hagia Sophias: From museums to mosques
Turkey's ancient churches are losing a century of secular protection...

Canadian Catholic School Being Pressured to Teach All Religions Are Equal
The Canadian Supreme Court is set to decide whether teachers at private religious schools in the province of Quebec will be allowed to share their faith with students, in a case concerning a Catholic high school that is being forced to teach students in an ethics and religious course that all religions are the same.

"It is the same thought process that has been the genesis for prohibitions on blasphemy in other jurisdictions. The whole idea behind blasphemy laws in some parts of the world is that you don't want to offend different religions, and so what they (the Quebec government) do is argue that they promote tolerance and understanding, but rather they want to control what is said," Gerald Chipeur, Q.C., of the Canadian firm Miller Thompson LLP, told The Christian Post in a phone interview on Wednesday...

A New Network for Faithful United Methodists
The developments of earlier this week have highlighted the ongoing unraveling of what once “United” the Methodist Church.

It is therefore timely to recall a gathering I was privileged to attend earlier this year of United Methodist leaders seeking a new, different, faithful, and positive conversation for members of our troubled denomination.

At this critical time in our denomination’s history, faithful United Methodists are coming together to constructively offer each other ministry resourcing, covenant accountability, and promotion of historic Methodist theology and spirituality.

Over 125 United Methodist clergy and laity gathered outside of Atlanta, Georgia for the first, two-day public meeting of the new Wesleyan Covenant Network (WCN)...

Psychic Sophie and the Rise of the Nones
For those who are interested, the European University Institute has just published my article, Defining Religion in American Law: Psychic Sophie and the Rise of the Nones. Here’s the abstract:

The most important recent development in American religion is the dramatic increase in the number of people who claim no religious affiliation - the rise of the Nones. In this Working Paper, I discuss the social factors that explain the rise of the Nones - demography, politics, family, technology, a distrust of institutions generally - and explain what this development might mean for the definition of religion in American law...