Ruth Institute Blog

This article by Dr. Byron Johnson comes from the First Things website. It was published in the August 2011 edition. You have to have a subscription to get the full story, but here is some of it below.

Dr. Morse will be interviewing Dr. Byron Johnson Monday, November 7, from 7-8 pm PST on AM 1000 KCEO, or you can listen live on the Internet at www.catholicradioofsandiego.com. Read more…

Tonight Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse will interview Dr. Peggy Hartshorn, the President of Heartbeat International, from 6-7 pm PST. Then, from 7-8 pm PST, Dr. Morse will interview Dr. Byron Johnson, a Professor of the Social Sciences and Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion as well as director of the Program on Pro-social Behavior, both at Baylor University. Read more…

by Denyse O’Leary

It is mainly religious people who raise children, and more women in America are religious.

First, the context: Modern political science — which readily understands imperialism, resistance, and clash of competing interests — does not similarly understand “the wasting away of nations.” That, says David Goldman, author of How Civilizations Die: (and why Islam is dying too), is because political scientists tend to assume that people will follow their rational self-interest. In fact, they often don’t. Read more…

Ayman Nabil Labib, a 17-year-old Coptic Christian student, was murdered by Muslim classmates after refusing to remove a crucifix he was wearing, the Assyrian International News Agency is reporting. Read more…

by Charlie Butts

Atheists want a statue of Jesus removed from a remote area of U.S. Forest Service property in Montana — because of the remote chance someone might be offended by it. Read more…

The New Atheist gets all grumpy about ‘stupid’ conversions to the faith. Francis Collins – a self-described ‘obnoxious atheist’ and incredible genetic scientist – revealed the end of his own journey to God…

“I turned the corner and saw in front of me this frozen waterfall, a couple of hundred feet high. Actually, a waterfall that had three parts to it — also the symbolic three in one. At that moment, I felt my resistance leave me. And it was a great sense of relief. The next morning, in the dewy grass in the shadow of the Cascades, I fell on my knees and accepted this truth — that God is God, that Christ is his son and that I am giving my life to that belief.” Read more…

By George Weigel

Two weeks into the NFL season, ESPN ran a Sunday morning special exploring why the third-string quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow, had become the most polarizing figure in American sports — more polarizing than trash-talking NBA behemoths; more polarizing than foul-mouthed Serena Williams; more polarizing than NFL all-stars who father numerous children by numerous women, all out of wedlock. Why does Tebow, and Tebow alone, arouse such passions? Why is Tebow the one whom “comedians” say they would like to shoot? Read more…

by Marcia Segelstein

Do you ever wonder what the world will be like in 20 or 30 years?  If you’re a parent or a grandparent, chances are you’ve thought a lot about the world the next generation will inhabit.  And if you’re a Christian, no doubt you’ve wondered if Christian values will be part of the mainstream culture, or whether such values will even be tolerated. Read more…

by Sheila Liaugminas

Policies of the federal government under the Obama administration have ignited a blaze of concerns about fundamental religious liberties in America.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the US bishops conference, wrote a letter to the president recently. Read more…

A report recently issued by the National Religious Broadcasters has found that Facebook, Apple iTunes, and other new media platforms censor Christian viewpoints, particularly about homosexuality. Read more…

by Marcia Segelstein

In the not too distant past, traditionalists theorized that when it came to raising children, the answer was to retreat from the world.  Use private or parochial schools.  Or even better, homeschool.  Raise up a generation of kids who would change the world by trying to raise them outside the world.

To some degree, I concur.  Homeschooling and using Christian and other private schools are great options for those who have the time and resources. Read more…

The 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth shows that adults who grew up in intact families and currently attended weekly religious services are least likely to “ever assault someone.”

This article comes from the Marriage and Religion Research Institute. Read more…

Dr. Michael Youssef

The ANC (American News Commentary) reported in its September 21, 2011 issue that the ACLU is defending the right of Muslims to exercise prayer in public schools in San Diego… Really? Read more…

by Anthony Esolen

September 27, 2011 http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/09/3766

Slandering their fathers while energetically progressing “somewhere,” the progressive is always in a position of impiety.

I have been puzzling over the term “progressive.” Read more…

by Chris Woodward and Jody Brown

A prominent American university has decided five on-campus Christian groups are in violation of the school’s non-discrimination policy and has placed the groups on “provisional status” — a move described by one conservative group as nothing short of religious bigotry. Read more…

Take note of the parts in blue at the bottom.

by  Maggie Gallagher

Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011, was a good day for marriage.

North Carolina legislators voted to send a marriage amendment to the people of that state in 2012.

And in New York, the first clear Democratic casualty of gay marriage emerged: David Weprin. Read more…

by Patrick F. Fagan, Ph.D. and Scott Talkington, Ph.D.
Dr. Fagan is senior fellow and director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI) at Family Research Council.

The 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth shows that students who now worship weekly and who grew up with two married parents are most likely to have received a high school degree. Read more…

by Michael Cook

In a race to the bottom of ethics, an American philosopher may have got there first.

“The religious fundamentalists are correct: without God, there is no morality. But they are incorrect, I still believe, about there being a God. Hence, I believe, there is no morality.” Read more…

Cato Institute scholar Doug Bandow has a column on the rise of religious persecution around the world. Basing his column on a report by the Pew Forum on Religion, Bandow notes that

According to Pew’s new study, “more than 2.2 billion people — about a third of the world’s population– live in countries where government restrictions or social hostilities involving religion are increasing. About 1% live in countries where government restrictions or social hostilities are decreasing.”

In many cases these restrictions are not minor. Explained Pew: “The number of countries in which governments used at least some measure of force against religious groups or individuals rose from 91 (46%) in the period ending in mid-2008 to 101 (51%) in the period ending in mid-2009. This violence was wide-ranging, including individuals being killed, physically abused, imprisoned, detained or displaced from their homes, as well as damage to or destruction of personal or religious properties.”… Read more…