Click here to subscribe to the Social Conservative Review
Transgenderism is much in the news, animated in large part by Bruce Jenner's reportedly air-brushed photograph of himself as a woman on the cover of a leading magazine.
On Wednesday of this week, the New York Times carried an above-the-fold, front page article, complete with an eye-catching photograph, about an 18 year-old boy who now goes by the name of Katharine. It describes the surgery and drug treatments that have caused him to have a body simulating a girl's. However, the author notes, given that the surgery took place only within the past year, "It was too late to change some things, like Kat's tenor voice and facial hair. 'I hate my voice,' she said. 'I shave.' She chose not to save sperm — to her, a revolting reminder of masculinity — so she cannot have children, the one sacrifice that gave her father a pang."
The article describes the boy's physical alteration this way: "The operation involved deconstructing her male genitals and repurposing the nerves and skin as female anatomy." Historically, this kind of surgery has been rejected by the medical establishment as mutilation.
All Christians should grieve for this young man and his family, and pray they find hope and healing in Christ -- the same hope and healing all of us find when we come to know His great love and decide to follow Him.
FRC's latest publication, "Understanding and Responding to the Transgender Movement," addresses the many aspects of this phenomenon and includes a seven-page executive summary. It's available online now and can be downloaded at no cost.
People struggling with their biological identity need counsel and compassion, not surgery, social empowerment or media acclaim. And, like all of us, they need the redeeming grace of a loving Savior. Let's be sure to extend it to them.
Sincerely,
Rob Schwarzwalder
Senior Vice-President,
Family Research Council
P.S. There's only one radio program in the country that almost every day features a Member of Congress -- FRC President Tony Perkins' "Washington Watch." Just in the past week, Tony's program has hosted two Senators, three current U.S. Representatives, and two presidential candidates, not to mention Christian leaders like Franklin Graham and the Benham brothers. Watch it online or listen on your local radio station -- it's a unique resource for all who care about faith, family, and freedom.
Human Dignity and the Sanctity of Life
Abortion
- Supreme Court allows ruling against common-sense NC ultrasound law to stand, Alliance Defending Freedom
- AP: Abortions declining in nearly all states- Associated Press
- Is "Safe-Sex" Education the Reason Behind the Drop in Abortion? -- Public Discourse
- Lindsey Graham Introduces Senate Plan to Ban Late-Term Abortions- Daily Signal
- Supreme Court declines to review decision invalidating "Right to View" provision of North Carolina's 2011 Ultrasound law- National Right to Life
- How will the Senate respond to tragedy? The Senate and Fetal Pain -- Family Research Council
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Pro-Life Bill to Stop Rubber Stamping Teen Abortions -- Life News
- Abortion Trends in America -- FRC/Marriage and Religion Research Institute
- Abortions can raise risk of later premature births -- Times of London
Abstinence
- Federal Government Shifts: Now Says Monogamy, Abstinence 'Most Reliable' Protections Against STDs - Breitbart
- Is "Safe-Sex" Education the Reason Behind the Drop in Abortion? -- Public Discourse
Adoption
- Michigan Lawmakers Give Religious Adoption Agencies Freedom to Deny Gay Couples -- Christian Post
- 'Our hearts have gotten bigger': Congressman Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) reflects on decision to adopt twins -- Today.com
- Adoption and Spiritual Warfare - Crossway
Assisted Suicide
- Video shows brain-injured Frenchman, condemned to starvation death, responding "very strongly" to court verdict- National Right to Life News
- Landmark Bill to Stop Forced Dehydration Passes Texas House, Heads to Senate -- Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
- California Senate Passes Dangerous Bill to Legalize Assisted Suicide -- Life News
- Euthanasia of Mentally Ill Should be Bigger News -- National Review
- Suicides Could Surge If End-of-Life Option Passes in California -- Christianity Today
Bioethics
- Woman Gives Birth After a Transplant of Her Own Frozen Ovarian Tissue- Time
- Solving the Mystery of Miscarriages -- The Wall Street Journal
- 'Ethically Risky:' Switzerland Votes to Screen Embryos for Genetic Defects - RT
- Surrogacy and the Making of Modern Families -- Canon and Culture
- Bioethics expert: three and four Parent babies are a 'monstrous mistake' -- Christian Institute
- Unused Embryos Pose Difficult Issue: What to Do With Them -- New York Times
Marriage & the Family
Marriage
- Estrangement Between Mothers and Adult Children: The Role of Norms and Values - Journal of Marriage and Family
- Why We Should Nourish Strong Families - New Geography
- Television Role Models and Fertility -- Evidence from a Natural Experiment - German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP)
- Who Said Red States Couldn't Foster Stable Families? -- National Review
- The Institution of Marriage: Still Going Strong -- National Journal
- The Sweet Mystery of Dignity: Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Antonin Scalia, Same Sex Marriage -- Library of Law and Liberty
- The "Takedown" of Family and Marriage -- Center for Vision and Values, Grove City College
- US births up for first time in 7 years: Is 'baby recession' over? -- Associated Press
- Red vs. Blue America on Marriage - New York Times
Economy and the family
- U.S. birth rate finally rises, thanks to moms in their 30s and early 40s -- Los Angeles Times
- Millennials Can't Afford to Buy Houses -- Quartz
- Was the 1990s Clinton economy really that good? -- American Enterprise Institute
Fatherhood
- Fred Luter and his son Chip: father and son, pastors, men of God -- BRNow.org
- Who is to blame for the decline of fatherhood in America? -- Alabama Media Group
- The Power of Fathers -- Focus on the Family
Homosexuality and Gender Issues
- People Who Cut Off Their Own Limbs (and Their Enablers) - National Review
- Rachel Dolezal Is Blacker Than Bruce Jenner Is Female - National Review
- Pope: marriage between man and woman, no to gender ideology - Vatican Radio
- Transgenderism: A Pathogenic Meme- Public Discourse
- Bruce Jenner: Christianity and Transgenderism Debate -- Christian News Headlines
- Redefining Sexual Sin Won't Make a Wrong a Right -- Christian Post
- Are Christians changing their minds on gay marriage? -- Denison Forum on Truth and Culture
- Transgendered Gnosticism -- The Cripplegate
- What lies beyond the bizarre expansion of children's rights to euthanasia and sex change surgery? -- Mercator.Net
Human Trafficking
- Is Human Trafficking Widespread in This Country? -- The Washington Post
- Obama signs anti-trafficking bill into law -- The Hill
- U.S. flight attendants seek mandatory training to spot human trafficking - Reuters
Pornography
- Hope for Pornography Addiction in Christian Men & Women - CrossMap
- Hit by a pornographic tsunami -- Hillsdale Daily News
- Vast Anecdotal Evidence Reveals Real-Life "50 Shades of Grey" is Far from a Fairytale -- National Center on Sexual Exploitation
Religious Liberty and Persecution
Domestic
- UPDATE: Liberty Institute Files Formal Military Complaint Against Navy Chaplain's Commanding Officer - Liberty Institute
- Two Noteworthy Supreme Court Decisions Announced Today - FRC Blog
- States Standing Strong for Liberty - National Catholic Register
- Court: Army Must Let Sikh Student Wear Beard in ROTC - Becket Fund
- The Power Elite: Corporatists Backing Same-Sex Marriage -- First Things
- Censoring Specialty License Plates; Podcast with Prof. Eugene Volokh -- Federalist Society
International
- Aslan Is on the Move: The Growth of Christianity in the Muslim World - Breakpoint
- God Is Moving in China: Filling a Peoples' Spiritual Void - Breakpoint
- Among the ruins of Iraq, Christians' faith burns brightly- Catholic News Agency
- Religious Persecution Rising: Islam Threatens Religious Minorities, Especially In Middle East - Forbes
Religion in Public Life
Christian faith and public policy
- The Hijab in the Dorm - Breakpoint
- Philanthropy Surges 5.4% to Record $358 Billion, Says 'Giving USA' -- Chronicle of Philanthropy
- The Only Path to Societal Renewal -- The Gospel Coalition
- Is the Gospel Cool? -- Canon and Culture
- Christianity's Revolutionary Recognition of Women as Equals -- FRC Blog
- Does Being Pro-Life Cost Votes? -- Christian Headlines
Education
- Meet the New Common Core -- New York Times
- A Modest Proposal for Education Reform - American Spectator
- Common Core Is Leaving My Students Behind -- Wall Street Journal
Other Stories of Note
- Generational and Time Period Differences in American Adolescents' Religious Orientation 1966--2014 - PLOS one
- Micro-Totalitarianism: Macro-aggression from the world of PC bullies -- American Spectator
- Dogmatism Rightly Understood: Things Worth Reading Annually - Powerline Blog
- Conservative Conservatism -- FRC Blog
