Dear Friends,
In discussing the “problem of pain,” author Joe Heschmeyer recently wrote that “…the whole story of the Fall is that things aren’t how they ought to be, how they aren’t how they were intended to be, and how we’re the ones who screwed them up. You can read that story in Genesis, or watch it on the nightly news.” Bishop Robert Barron summed up this state of affairs concisely: “The human race is best characterized as a dysfunctional spiritual family, all of us having been marked from birth by the effects of sin. Sin has found its way into every aspect of human life, personally and institutionally. We would be hopelessly naïve to think otherwise.”
Atheists often argue that it is absurd to believe in God when there is so much “dysfunction,” suffering, and pain in the world. But as Heschmeyer points out, if there is no God, what can possibly account for all of the beauty in the world? He illustrates this by quoting the musician Joanna Newsom as she discussed what she was going through while recording an album:
“The thing that I was experiencing and dwelling on the entire time is that there are so many things that are not OK and that will never be OK again,” says Newsom. “But there’s also so many things that are OK and good that sometimes it makes you crumple over with being alive. We are allowed such an insane depth of beauty and enjoyment in this lifetime. It’s what my dad talks about sometimes. He says the only way that he knows there’s a God is that there’s so much gratuitous joy in this life. And that’s his only proof. There’s so many joys that do not assist in the propagation of the race or self-preservation. There’s no point whatsoever. They are so excessively, mind-bogglingly joy-producing that they distract from the very functions that are supposed to promote human life. They can leave you stupefied, monastic, not productive in any way, shape or form. And those joys are there and they are unflagging and they are ever-growing…”
This is part of what makes our Creator so amazing. Not only did He give us “a Savior, someone who can break into our dysfunction from the outside and heal us” (Bishop Barron’s words), He also gives us moments of “gratuitous joy” as we make our way through this earthly life. May we be forever thankful for this gift freely given to us, and may we freely give of ourselves in return.
Thank you for your prayers and for your continued support of FRC and the family.
Sincerely,
Dan Hart
Managing Editor for Publications
Family Research Council
FRC Articles
Can a Christian Serve as a Judge Anymore? – Travis Weber
How the Left Uses Fake Science to Advance Its Agenda
Will FEMA Treat Churches Fairly? – Travis Weber
The Rights that Students and Parents Have to Challenge Transgender Policies
Advice for Parents On Challenging Transgender Policies in Public Schools
Masterpiece Cakeshop Attorneys File Merits Brief with the Supreme Court – Travis Weber
Religious Liberty
Religious Liberty in the Public Square
Why religious liberty matters for creativity – Jason Thacker, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Faith groups provide the bulk of disaster recovery, in coordination with FEMA – Paul Singer, USA Today
What It’s Like to Be Smeared by the Southern Poverty Law Center – Carol M. Swain, The Wall Street Journal
Senate Democrats show off their anti-religious bigotry – Michael Gerson, The Washington Post
Media should not embrace far-left 'poverty' law firm – Colorado Springs Gazette
Will the IRS investigate the SPLC on taxes? – Judson Phillips, The Washington Times
Non-Profit Leaders Call on Media to Stop Citing Southern Poverty Law Center – Liberty McArtor, The Stream
California bill seeks to punish ‘misgendering’ with jail time – Mary Rezac, Crux
3 Texas Churches Sue FEMA Over Policy Banning Churches From Receiving Harvey Disaster Relief – Stoyan Zaimov, The Christian Post
Democratic Congressman Says He's Introducing A Bill To Punish Campus 'Hate Speech' – Emily Zanotti, The Daily Wire
UK Speaker: Same-Sex Marriage Won’t Be ‘Proper’ Until Churches Can’t Opt Out – Tyler O’Neil, PJ Media
U.S. Senators Revive Anti-Catholic Bigotry To Intimidate Religious People – Paul C. Binotto, The Federalist
'Attacks on Religious Liberty' in US Increased 133 Percent in Last 5 Years: Report – Samuel Smith, The Christian Post
"Free to Believe"
Judge Suspends City’s Ban of Farmers Over Their Marriage Views – Kelsey Harkness, The Daily Signal
4 Key Arguments We Are Making to Defend Jack Phillips at the Supreme Court – Sarah Kramer, Alliance Defending Freedom
They Serve Gay Clients All The Time. So Why Won’t They Cater A Same-Sex Wedding? – Josh Shepherd, The Federalist
Your Beliefs Are No Longer Allowed – Taylor Lewis, American Thinker
Professors told to report students who make campus ‘less inclusive’ to Behavior Assessment Team – Andrew Johnson, The College Fix
International Religious Freedom
What’s changed in Britain since same-sex marriage? – David Sergeant, The Spectator Australia
Catholic Priest Released After 18 Months’ Captivity – Elise Harris, National Catholic Register
Fulani herdsmen kill 20 Christians in Nigeria – Onize Ohikere, WORLD
Life
Abortion
When Planned Parenthood closes, women find real health care at hundreds of other clinics – Rebecca Downs, Live Action
Podcast: Pro-life apologetics; Arguments from reason that align with scripture – Scott Klusendorf, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Red State-Blue State Abortion Divide Deepens – Brian Fraga, National Catholic Register
5 new scientific discoveries that show what’s happening to the child in the womb – Kristi Burton Brown, Live Action
Can We Stop an International Roe v. Wade? – Stefano Gennarini, Public Discourse
U.S. Blasts UNFPA Support for China’s Birth Control Policy – Susan Yoshihara, C-Fam
Why the pro-choice side is afraid of giving women the choice of abortion pill reversal – Marcie Little, Live Action
One last chance to defund Planned Parenthood may lie in the Senate’s hands – Susan Michelle-Hanson, Live Action
Adoption
Podcast: Are you mentally healthy enough? Preparing for adoption’s hardships – Sharen Ford, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Bioethics
The American Medical Association vs. Human Nature – Philip Hawley, Jr., Public Discourse
Doctor wants D.C.’s assisted suicide law repealed: A ‘right to die’ soon creates a ‘duty to die’ – Cassy Fiano, Live Action
The Contagion of Euthanasia and the Corruption of Compassion – Arthur Goldberg and Shimon Cowen, Public Discourse
Obamacare
After Experiencing British And U.S. Health Care, This Family Says Single-Payer Is Abominable – Jayme Metzgar, The Federalist
Family
Economics/Education
As Workers Expect Less, Job Satisfaction Rises – Lauren Weber, The Wall Street Journal
This is why a growing number of teachers want more lessons on religion in school – Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News
How a Democratic New York City Councilwoman Became a Crusader for School Choice – Eva Moskowitz, National Review
A Debt Crisis Is Coming, and We’re All to Blame – Walter E. Williams, The Daily Signal
Five Facts About Families and Poverty – Alysse ElHage, Family Studies
Marriage
New research says this kind of daily prayer can change your marriage – Calah Alexander, Aleteia
How to Align Your Dreams as a Couple – Greg Smalley and Erin Smalley, Focus on the Family
Are You ‘Not Yet Married’? – Marshall Segal, Desiring God
The Infectious Effects of Divorce and Marriage – Luma Simms, Family Studies
As U.S. marriage rate hovers at 50%, education gap in marital status widens – Kim Parker and Renee Stepler, Pew Research Center
Faith/Character/Culture
Why Our Obsession With TV Antiheroes Is Destroying Our Souls – Georgi Boorman, The Federalist
The Secret Power of Family Work – Jenet Erickson, Family Studies
Does The Immaterial Exist? – Joe Heschmeyer, Word On Fire
Why religion is not going away and science will not destroy it – Peter Harrison, Aeon
Overcoming Our Smartphone Addiction – Christopher O. Blum and Joshua P. Hochschild, Crisis
If You Want to Live Truly, Learn to Die Daily – Liz Wann, Desiring God
Human Sexuality
Oversexed ed – Emily Belz, WORLD
Parents pull children from prestigious school after transgender ‘indoctrination’ in kindergarten – Bradford Richardson, The Washington Times
How The Transgender Crusade Made Me Rethink My Support For Gay Marriage – Bethany Mandel, The Federalist
Mislabeled sex ed – Emily Belz, WORLD
Why I Don’t Use Female Pronouns For My Transgender Brother – Michael Booker, The Federalist
Sex, Sanity and Beliefs That ‘Live Loudly’ Within Us – Archbishop Charles Chaput, National Catholic Register
What science really has to say about sexuality and gender – Joe Carter, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Human Trafficking
Human-Trafficking Fighters Hope for Lift From Proposed New Legislation – Peter Jesserer Smith, National Catholic Register
Google and Sex Traffickers Like Backpage.com – Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
A Pivotal New Goal: Shedding Light on the Sexual Exploitation of Boys and Men – Katherine Blakeman, National Center on Sexual Exploitation
Pornography
What I told my 7-year-old when he asked what porn was – Matt Fradd, Aleteia
Dr. Sharon Cooper, MD Discusses How Pornography Harms Children – Katherine Blakeman, National Center on Sexual Exploitation
Why Watching Porn Leaves You Feeling Lonelier Than Before – Fight the New Drug
