The Social Conservative Review: October 9, 2014

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Dear Friends,

In his lecture yesterday at FRC, "Renaissance: The Power of the Christian Gospel However Dark the Times," renowned scholar Dr. Os Guinness offered encouraging words for Christians ready to "throw in the towel" as events at home and abroad sometimes look bleak.

"Any gloom and doom today is totally unwarranted," said Dr. Guinness. "There are no answers so deep and true as those in the Christian faith."

Are we proclaiming and articulating those answers confidently, humbly, graciously, and persuasively? Serious believers should be asking themselves that question often. Dr. Guinness noted that "the church always goes forward by going backward first" -- by returning to its first love, Jesus Christ, and the eternal truths of God's Word. This is one of the paradoxes of God's kingdom -- we advance by retracing our path to His unchanging message. For the sake of advancing "a culture in which human life is valued, families flourish and religious liberty thrives," taking a few steps back to what really matters is always a good idea.

Sincerely,

Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice President
Family Research Council

P.S. What's going on with ebola, Islamic terrorism, and American security? Learn from FRC's Lt. Gen. (ret) Jerry Boykin, former commander of the Delta Force, as he explains what's happening in a Fox News interview.

Human Dignity and the Sanctity of Life
Abortion

• "Cosmopolitan features 22-year-old who chose adoption over abortion," Live Action News
• "All Your Wombs Belong to Us," The Federalist
• "9 Things You Should Know About Pregnancy Help Organizations," The Gospel Coalition
• "Saving lives in Florida, one ultrasound at a time," Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission
• "Inland Empire Mother Makes Ultimate Sacrifice For Newborn," CBS Los Angeles
• "Virginia family group outraged over teen abortion ruling," The Washington Times

Euthanasia/End of Life Issues

• "Terminally Ill 29-Year-Old Woman: Why I'm Choosing to Die on My Own Terms," People.com
• "Euthanasia Extends its Scope," The Boston Pilot
• "There's no "mushy middle" on euthanasia," MercatorNet
• "World's Destitute Often Die in Agony," National Review Online

Stem Cells and Biotechnology

• "The first baby has been born following a womb transplant," London Daily Telegraph
• "Scientists manipulate split proteins to detect interactions in living cells," Phys.org
• "FRC notes promising progress in Japan on adult stem cells," OneNewsNow

Marriage & Family
Education

• "Common Core and the Constitution," ChristianHeadlines.com
• "What to make of the AP US History framework," AEIdeas.org
• "'What Our Schools Need'?," The Acton Institute
• "Stotsky: Why Aren't the Developers of the Common Core Standards Being Questioned," Breitbart.com
• "6 Steps to Subtract 2 Numbers: Common Core Homework in 1 Photo," The Daily Signal
• "Imagination Isn't Safe," Center for a Just Society
• "Connecticut Targets Homeschoolers," City Journal

Family Life

• "Difficult Marriage in a Modern Age," First Things
• "Recessions drive down fertility rates for more than a decade," Vox
• "All About the Money: Why Government Spending and Debt Matter for Millennials," The Daily Signal
• "Millennials Still Want to Marry," The Christian Post
• "How American parenting is killing the American marriage?," Quartz
• "Homemakers build the foundations of society," MercatorNet

Human Sexuality

• "Traditional Sexuality, Radical Community," The Gospel Coalition
• "Marriage, human sexuality reflect deepest truths of Gospel," Florida Baptist Witness
• "The Sexual Totalitarian Campus," The American Conservative

Homosexuality and Same-Sex "Marriage"

• "Speak Now or Forfeit Marriage," Family Research Council
• "The Defense of Marriage Isn't Over," The Public Discourse
• "CDC: Gay Men Represent 2 Percent Of US Population, 52 Percent Of People With HIV," CBS Atlanta
• "The Unseen Pain Behind 'Gay Marriage'," Breakpoint

Pornography

• "Five Things I Want the Christian Woman to Know...," PornHarms.com
• "Anti-porn campaign changes gears to reduce 'shock value'," InsideOttawaValley.com
• "Pornography: The Quiet Family Killer," CharismaNews.com

Human trafficking

• "This map shows where slavery and forced labor are happening around the world?," AEIdeas.org
• "Human Trafficking Behind Bars and Beyond.," End Slavery Now
• "Congress, Big Tech Fight Over Child Prostitution Bill," The Daily Beast
• "Ending Demand Starts with Building Strong Children," Demanding Justice
• "How to Spot a Trafficking Victim at an Airport," Time

Religious Liberty

• "Preaching Politics, Pastors Defy Ban," The Wall Street Journal
• "Fusionism, Hobby Lobby, and the Constitution," The Public Discourse
• "What Does Liberty Really Mean for Christians?," Juicy Ecumenism
• "How Serious Is the Supreme Court About Religious Freedom?," The Atlantic
• "The Senate and the Courts," Ethics and Public Policy Center
• "The Free Speech Movement at 50," City Journal
• "I was free to find religion in prison. Will the Supreme Court protect that freedom?," On Faith
• "Gay Rights vs. Religious Liberty, Again," The American Conservative

Religion in Public Life

• "Suffering Children," America Magazine
• "5 Reasons Your Church Should Care about Hunger?," Pastors Today
• "The Christian Response to Homosexuality," Christianity.com
• "What Is the Highest Good?," DesiringGod
• "Showing Grace in the Era of Cultural Outrage," Relevant Magazine

International Religious Liberty

• "Hong Kong Democracy Protests Carry a Christian Mission for Some," The Wall Street Journal
• "Does ISIS Represent True Islam?," The Gospel Coalition
• "Persecution After Death in Pakistan," Persecution.org
• "More deadly than ISIS and al-Qaeda," WORLD Magazine
• "Meet the Controversial Muslim Leader Who Has Advised the White House," National Journal
• "ISIS Threatens Military Families Via Social Media," The Political Insider

Other important articles

• "As the courts turn: The continuing legal perils of Obamacare," AEIdeas.org
• "Election 2014: Is Obamacare helping or hurting?," WORLD Magazine
• "Trust in Government is Pathological," The American Thinker
• "Making D.C. a State," Commentary Magazine

Book Reviews

• "PostChristian?," The Gospel Coalition
• "Irreplaceable," City Journal
• "The Education of the Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings," The Imaginative Conservative
• "The Closed Mind of Richard Dawkins," The New Republic
• "The Case Against 'Radical' Christianity," Christianity Today