Conservative columnist James Taranto is “Exhibit A” of why gay marriage will eventually be legal in all 50 states. Those who might stand up in favor of marriage are simply shrinking back, and Taranto is among them. The GOP majority in the NY state senate is another case in point. There is a passive indifference on the part of these conservatives when it comes to social issues in general and to gay marriage in particular. Perhaps they would prefer that our laws only recognize traditional marriage, but no biggie if they don’t. Taranto represents this point of view really well. He writes:
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A Response to the NIV Translators
I just saw yesterday that the translators of the 2011 NIV have posted a response to CBMW’s review of the new NIV’s gender language (note also their response to the SBC resolution). If you are following this discussion, you will want to read the whole letter from the translators, but I will summarize their concerns here and offer a brief response to each.
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10 Principles on Marriage and the Public Good
Commentary abounds in the wake of New York’s move to legalize gay marriage. Just today, I saw David Frum’s column at CNN.com in which he recants his former opposition to same-sex marriage. Frum says he was wrong to argue in public that same-sex marriage would weaken traditional marriage or have other deleterious effects on the public good. Frum says that over the last 14 years, “the case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality” and has come up short. So he and a host of other Republicans are either silent about the issue or are outright endorsing gay marriage.
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The Real Story behind NY Gay Marriage
If you missed Michael Barbaro’s report in yesterday’s New York Times about the road to gay marriage in New York, you really should take the time to read it. The public story until now has been that a few key Republicans responded to emotional appeals from gay couples who wished to be wed. Barbaro shows that this is not what really happened.
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New York Legalizes Gay Marriage
New York has just become the sixth state to legalize gay marriage. The NY Senate passed the bill earlier this evening, and then Governor Andrew Cuomo signed it into law. It will take effect 30 days from the Governor’s signing. New York joins Vermont and New Hampshire as the only states to legalize gay marriage through state legislatures. In every other state, it has happened through the courts. This bill doubles the number of people in the United States who will have access to same-sex marriage.
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Untold hunt for Hitler revealed in new book
Many readers of this blog will recognize John Woodbridge as the author of a watershed book defending inerrancy, Biblical Authority: A Critique of the Rogers/McKim Proposal. Recently however, he has teamed-up with Pulitzer Prize winner Maurice Possley to write Hitler in the Crosshairs: A GI’s Story of Courage and Faith. Earlier this month, the authors appeared together on public radio to discuss the book (listen below or download here). [audio:http://www.wbez.org/sites/default/files/segment/audio/2011-June/2011-06-06/84820110606c.mp3]
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10 Brands That Will Disappear in 2012
Wall St. 24/7 produces a list every year of brands that will soon go the way of the Dodo. Previously, they predicted the demise of Blockbuster and T-Mobile, and so a lot of people pay attention to their forecasts. “When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction” (Proverbs 24:32). The list of terminally ill companies is below. But first, here are the criteria they use to assemble the list:
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The 2010 Census and the Future of the Great Commission
The findings from the 2010 census are set to be released this summer, but some preliminary estimates are already being reported by the Associated Press. Every Christian who wants to understand what Great Commission ministry is going to look like in this century needs to pay attention to these numbers. Probably the most significant item in this report relates to minorities. No doubt, many of you have already heard that demographers predict that by 2050 whites will no longer be the majority in the United States. This census finds that for the first time minorities already make up a majority of babies in the U.S.
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I Spank My Kids
Spanking has become quite the controversial topic these days and has even become somewhat of a taboo in certain quarters. For this reason, Nancy French has a column in National Review Online in which she boldly declares “I Spank My Kids.” Her declaration is provoked by a report from Texas about a woman who was convicted of a felony for spanking her child. No belt was used, and no bruising occurred. Nevertheless, this woman lost custody of all three of her children and was sentenced to five years probation. After the trial, the judge scolded the mother saying:
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The SBC Resolution on the NIV
A surprising thing happened at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention last week. The messengers approved a resolution opposing the 2011 edition of the NIV. This kind of move is not unprecedented for an annual SBC meeting. Messengers approved similar resolutions in 1997 and in 2002, both of which were in response to gender-inclusive revisions of the NIV. But there was something different about the resolution that came out this year. This resolution came not from the resolutions committee, but from a single messenger who was concerned about the issue and who wanted the convention to speak to it.