For the past ten years, Pew Research Center has been observing the decline in religion in the US. Last week they released their findings under the headline, “In the U.S., Declines of Christianity Continues at a Rapid Pace.” Pew found that the number of Christians in the U.S. had dropped by 12% in the past decade, while the religiously unaffiliated share of the population increased by 17%.
Pew is right in noting that this is a significant decline to have taken place in only ten years, and an understanding and awareness of this trendmatters. The declining number of people identifying as Christians has implications for believers. However, as we think about these numbers, we must never lose sight of the fact that the power of the gospel is not dependent on cultural trends. Pew’s findings are an urgent reminder that the people around us are lost and hurting, and this should motivate us to act with urgency, compassion, and concern.
Earlier this fall, Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued an advisory on the dangers of marijuana, especially for young people and pregnant women. “Recent increases in access to marijuana and in its potency, along with misperceptions of safety of marijuana endanger our most precious resource, our nation’s youth,” Adams stated. The health risks detailed here by the Surgeon General are some of the principal reasons Minnesota Family Council opposes recreational marijuana legalization in Minnesota.
In his advisory, Surgeon General Adams states,
No amount of marijuana use during pregnancy or adolescence is known to be safe. Until and unless more is known about the long-term impact, the safest choice for pregnant women and adolescents is not to use marijuana. Pregnant women and youth--and those who love them--need the facts and resources to support healthy decisions. It is critical to educate women and youth, as well as family members, school officials, state and local leaders, and health professionals, about the risks of marijuana, particularly as more states contemplate legalization.
A Roman soldier wrote the following in aletter to his wife over 2,000 years ago: “If you bear a child and it is male, let it be; if it is female, cast it out.”
The jarring statement appears in a casual letter home, highlighting its cold brutality. This was what it was like to live in a society that did not value human life and chose to see women as less valuable than men.
If the same statement was uttered today, it would surely be met with shock, horror, and outrage. Right?
Speaking in Minneapolis last night before a crowd estimated at more than 19,000, President Trump gave his first campaign appearance in Minnesota’s largest city. His wide-ranging remarks lasted 102 minutes (the second-longest speech of his presidency so far), but at one crucial moment, Trump spelled out his position on abortion.
“Virtually every top Democrat supports late-term abortions, ripping babies straight from the mother’s womb right up to the moment of birth. That is why I have asked Congress to prohibit extreme late-term abortions, because Republicans believe every child is a sacred gift from God.”
