Living in an “Un-Serious” Culture

Current Events

daily_commentary_11_03_15Our friends at the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview have produced an excellent commentary on the “unseriousness” of our culture.

John Stonestreet notes,

“At any given moment, what’s most likely to cause social media outlets like Twitter to explode isn’t a humanitarian crisis, a natural disaster, or a critical political issue—it’s a celebrity feud or some other pop culture story.

“Surveying our cultural landscape, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that the defining characteristic of modern Western culture, at least in the United States, is that it is unserious. Now, by ‘un-serious’ I don’t mean that we should walk around with a furrowed brow and only talk about Kierkegaard or nineteenth-century German Romanticism. What I’m referring to is the nihilism of what German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called ‘last men,’ apathetic creatures without any great passions or commitments.”

You can read Stonestreet’s entire commentary here, or listen to it below.

[audio:http://www.breakpoint.org/images/content/breakpoint/audio/2015/110315_BP.mp3|titles=Caring About Small Things and Overlooking Big Things]

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Poll: Arkansans Favor Pro-Life Laws, Overwhelmingly Oppose Same-Sex Marriage

Abortion, Homosexuality,

The 2015 Arkansas Poll released by the University of Arkansas today shows Arkansans overwhelmingly oppose recognition of same-sex marriage.

According to the poll, 64% of likely voters said same-sex marriage “should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages.”

The poll comes as little surprise. Arkansans made it abundantly clear in 2004 they favor defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman; virtually every poll conducted since then has shown continued support for that definition among Arkansans.

The poll also shows 47% of likely voters favor laws making it “more difficult for a woman to get an abortion”–the highest percentage since 2003. Only 12% said it ought to be “easier” to get an abortion.

This number coincides with declining abortion levels in Arkansas–which have fallen drastically since the 1990’s–and new pro-life laws.

You can see the entire poll summary here.

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Houston Rejects “Equal Rights” Ordinance

Religious Freedom, ,

Voters in Houston rejected a so-called “equal rights” ordinance by a vote of roughly 61% to 39%.

This represents a major victory for religious liberty in Houston. As you may recall, Houston’s mayor tried to subpoena pastors’ sermons and church documents last year during the debate over the ordinance.

In 2014 the Houston City Council passed the controversial “Houston Equal Rights Ordinance” which gives special protections to citizens based on sexual-orientation and gender-identity.

The proposal threatened the liberty of religious people and institutions who object to homosexual behavior, and it arguably would have allowed a biological male to enter women’s restrooms, showers, locker rooms, and similar facilities in Houston.

Houston residents petitioned to bring the ordinance up for a popular vote. This week, voters made their position overwhelmingly clear.

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