Dear Friends,
We are now in the month of August, the time of the year that seems to be a kind of buffer between the season of vacations and weddings and the season when school and Congress begin work in earnest again in September. Generally speaking, August is when life seems to slow down a bit. Offices are a little emptier, the summer heat is a bit more intense, and there’s a few more stretches of time to spend in leisure.
But what is “leisure”? Most of us tend to think of it in terms of watching a movie or playing a board game. But as John Cuddeback writes, there is an important distinction between leisure and amusement:
Amusement refers to those activities we do because they are fun, or diverting, or simply relaxing. We play a game, ride a bike, go out on a boat, or watch a movie. We enjoy these activities even while they have no obvious product or utility.
Leisure refers to activities that are more serious: we have a deep conversation, we lie on our backs observing the stars, we listen to great music. We contemplate deeper things, we worship God.
Amusement and leisure share a common element: they are not work. But this similarity points to their fundamental difference. At the end of the day, amusement is less important than work, and it takes its immediate meaning from the fact that it serves work, by refreshing us to go back to our labors.
Leisure on the other hand is served by our work. It provides the ultimate meaning and justification for human work.
As we take vacations and spend time away from the office during this season, let’s remember to not only have fun and unwind, but to also spend some quality time in authentic leisure in order to renew our intellects and souls for the work God is calling us to accomplish.
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
Ominous Court Ruling Allows Discrimination Against Christian Adoption Provider – Travis Weber
With State Department Ministerial, Trump Administration Signals Seriousness on Religious Freedom – Travis Weber
Why It’s Impossible To Support Both #MeToo And Planned Parenthood Without Being A Big Hypocrite – Patrina Mosley
Unleashing America’s Entrepreneurial Spirit – Ken Blackwell
Nikki Haley’s Great Advice on Resurrecting Civil Discourse – Spenser White
Transgender “Revolution” is Really an Elitist Diktat – Cathy Ruse
DOJ Announces Timely Religious Liberty Initiative – Travis Weber
RNC: Schools Must Get a “Yes” from Parents Before Teaching Radical Sex Ed – Cathy Ruse
The Lies of Access and Autonomy – Hannah Borchers
Ohio House Bill 658: Parental Rights are Good for Children – Madeleine Lucas
Religious Liberty
Religious Liberty in the Public Square
Town Orders Family to Stop Hosting Bible Studies on Farm – ToddStarnes.com
These 6 Cases Show How Brett Kavanaugh Might Rule on Religious Freedom – Fred Lucas, The Daily Signal
School District Threatens to Call Police After Mystery Person Gives Out Free Bibles on Campus – Will Maule, CBN News
Muslim Who Squeezed $3M Out of SPLC for Calling Him an Anti-Muslim Extremist Says Others Also Wrongly Labeled – Jeremiah Poff, The Daily Signal
Christian club rejects University of Iowa’s mandate to accept LGBT leaders – Calvin Freiburger, LifeSiteNews
Atheist Group Sues West Virginia City for Reciting Lord's Prayer at Meetings – Michael Gryboski, The Christian Post
International Religious Freedom
Religious persecution in Iran, China must end now – Mike Pompeo, USA Today
American Pastor Brunson Moved from Prison to House Arrest in Turkey – Benjamin Gill, CBN News
China Detaining Over 1 Million Muslims in Concentration Camps but the World Is Silent, Believer Says – Samuel Smith, The Christian Post
Victims of Religious Persecution Tell Their Stories at International Conference in DC – Katherine Rohloff, The Daily Signal
Trinity Western and the Endangerment of Religious Pluralism in Canada – Derek Ross, Public Discourse
US Tells Iraqi Christians Help Is on Its Way (For Real This Time) – Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today
Military Religious Freedom
Air Force surrenders to demand to replace Bible with generic 'book of faith' on POW/MIA table – Todd Starnes, Fox News
Life
Abortion
When Arguments Fail, What Do Pro-Lifers Do? – Liberty McArtor, The Stream
Pushing the abortion pill on college campuses is dangerous to women – Kristi Burton Brown, Live Action
Amazing new video illustrates humanity of preborn baby in womb – Calvin Freiburger, LifeSiteNews
7th Circuit strikes down Indiana abortion ultrasound law – Dave Stafford, The Indiana Lawyer
Planned Parenthood opening 14 new facilities in ‘deep red’ states – Claire Chretien, LifeSiteNews
The Tyranny of Reproductive “Justice” – Regis Nicoll, Crisis
Adoption
Should Kinship Care Be the Default Option for Kids in Foster Care? – Naomi Schaefer Riley, Family Studies
Welcoming an Adopted Baby Home Is Both Beautiful and Challenging — And Here's Why We Need to Talk About It – Marianne Garvey, Bravo
Bioethics
Children Are Now Being Euthanized in Belgium – Michael Cook, Intellectual Takeout
Who gets the embryos? Whoever wants to make them into babies, new law says – Ariana Eunjung Cha, The Washington Post
Thousands of Euthanasia Killings in Canada – Wesley J. Smith, National Review
UK horror: Patients in ‘vegetative state’ can now be killed without consent – Cassy Fiano-Chesser, Live Action
What does the Bible teach about euthanasia and physician assisted suicide? – Mary Wurster, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Family
Marriage
We All Marry the Wrong Person – Erin Smalley, Focus on the Family
Words of Wisdom on a Silver Anniversary – Michelle Malkin, National Review
Children of divorcing parents want more information and more say in what happens, study finds – Angus Randall, ABC News
Single Sailors Think Navy Hinders Likelihood of Marriage, Survey Says – Brock Vergakis, The Virginian-Pilot
Our Fixer-Upper Marriage – Stephanie Reeves, Family Life
God remembers the barren, and so should the church – Jenn Hesse, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Parenting
What Are Your Child’s Passions? – Dennis Prager, The Stream
Podcast: Parenting through the hard seasons – Nancy Guthrie, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
The Genetics of Parenting – Robert VerBruggen, Family Studies
I Love Being Their Mother – Jess Hunt, Her View From Home
Economics/Education
'Parents... Deserve the Right to Know': RNC Passes 'Parents' Rights' Sex Ed Resolution – Mark Martin, CBN News
In Search of Family Time – Amber Lapp, Family Studies
Free-Market Policies Make the Most of the Sharing Economy – Anthony B. Kim, The Daily Signal
Family Instability in Childhood Affects American Adults’ Economic Mobility – Paola Scommegna, Population Reference Bureau
Faith/Character/Culture
Why Gratitude Is So Good for You (and for Those Around You) – Richard Gunderman, Intellectual Takeout
The family that prays together … feels connected, unified and bonded with less relational tension – Jon McBride, BYU News
Living a Life of Purpose: An Interview with Michelle Singletary – Alysse ElHage, Family Studies
Human Sexuality
The Beauty of Complementarity Goes Beyond Gender – Brett McCracken, The Gospel Coalition
What #MeToo and Hooking Up Teach Us About The Meaning of Sex – Elizabeth Schlueter and Nathan Schlueter, Public Discourse
Thinking Deeply about Christian Love: Same-Sex Attraction, Sin, and Spiritual Friendship – Ron Belgau, Public Discourse
Why ordinary people disregard the transgender movement as utterly insane – Jonathon Van Maren, LifeSiteNews
Religious Male Students Less Sexually Aggressive, Coercive, Study Finds – Anugrah Kumar, The Christian Post
Study finds health risks for transgender women on hormone therapy – Avichai Scher, NBC News
Human Trafficking
The Porn Industry and Human Trafficking Reinforce Each Other – Marlo Safi, National Review
A Need for Child Safeguarding Policies – Lana Lichfield, National Center on Sexual Exploitation
Pornography
Americans Are Rapidly Warming Up to Porn, a New Gallup Poll Shows. Here's Why – Jon Miltimore, Intellectual Takeout
How Our More Permissive Attitudes Toward Porn May Impact Marriage – Alysse ElHage, Family Studies
Pornography is First Boom in Virtual Reality – Brynne Townley, National Center on Sexual Exploitation
