Parents are worried about social media

Parents are worried about social media

VERBATIM:  The Pew Research Center has released a new report that indicates a lot of moms and dads wish their teenagers didn’t spend so much time on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and other platforms.  The poll finds many parents think it harms their kids’ mental health.  Other studies have shown that social media is a largely unregulated space where adolescents can be exposed to pornography, sex-trafficking and other dangers without parental supervision.  MH REPORTING

Samaritan’s Purse is ministering in the Midwest

Samaritan’s Purse is ministering in the Midwest

VERBATIM:  Multiple tornadoes hammered the region over the weekend and help is needed.  Samaritan’s Purse has volunteer clean-up teams at work and a group of chaplains are also on hand to deliver spiritual comfort.  Officials in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota say the violent weather has caused a lot of property damage and rendered a number of roads impassable.  April, May and June are peak tornado season in the Midwest and more storms are expected.  MH REPORTING

A victory for religious freedom in Indiana

A victory for religious freedom in Indiana

VERBATIM:  The South Madison County School Corporation has agreed to pay 200,000 dollars to a counselor who was fired.  Kathy McCord was dismissed when she refused to abide by a county policy requiring school officials to conceal from parents the fact that their child was living as the opposite sex in class.  Alliance Defending Freedom represented McCord and says “No American should be fired for expressing her beliefs.”  MH REPORTING

Pro-lifers win a court battle in Oregon

Pro-lifers win a court battle in Oregon

VERBATIM:  A federal judge has ruled that Oregon Right to Life does NOT have to include coverage for abortion in its employee health insurance plan.  State lawmakers passed a measure back in 2017 that enacted such a requirement with an exemption for religious organizations.  When Oregon Right to Life applied it was rejected as not religious enough.  The organization is calling the ruling a victory for all pro-life Oregonians.  MH REPORTING

Arizona lawmakers reject assisted-suicide

Arizona lawmakers reject assisted-suicide

VERBATIM:  The legislation would have allowed state residents who suffer from terminal diseases to get a doctor’s help in taking their own life.  Pro-life advocates warned that a RIGHT to die could quickly become a DUTY to die and the Arizona legislature was listening.  Before killing the bill lawmakers raised concerns about oversight and whether vulnerable people might find themselves pressured to take their own lives.  MH REPORTING

Scripture will be heard in the nation’s capital next week

Scripture will be heard in the nation’s capital next week

VERBATIM:  Beginning Sunday, every verse of the Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 will be read aloud at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.  An army of volunteer readers will take the podium for brief stints from 9am to 9p until the job is done in seven days.  Amongst the readers will be members of President Trump’s cabinet, members of Congress, governors and some well-known pastors as well.  The event will be livestreamed.  MH REPORTING

Illinois is the place to go for an abortion

Illinois is the place to go for an abortion

VERBATIM:  According to research by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, of the roughly 150,000 women who traveled across state lines to get an abortion, 23% went to Illinois — which is more than any other state in the union.  Democratic Governor Jay Pritzker is a vigorous promoter of abortion and with help of the legislature has done all he can to make Illinois an abortion destination.  This new report indicates that the governor is succeeding.  MH REPORTING

The Grahams have some traveling in their future

The Grahams have some traveling in their future

VERBATIM:  Franklin is scheduled to preach the gospel on May 30th and 31st at the Festival de la Esperanza in Madrid, an event being organized by Spanish churches and to include performances by Michael W. Smith and other Contemporary Christian music stars.  Meanwhile, his son Will Graham is slated to preach May 4th and 5th in Shikoku, Japan.  The younger Graham says “God is doing something wonderful in Japan.  I believe that God’s heart is for the next generation of Japanese that will choose to follow Him and lead others to Him.”  MH REPORTING

The Canadian Navy is flying a new flag

The Canadian Navy is flying a new flag

VERBATIM:  Observers say late last month, the naval base at Halifax flew the Transgender Pride flag from its flag pole in honor of the Transgender Day of Visibility.  This reportedly caught even some members of the navy off guard, one telling LifeSiteNews.com “I was shocked.”  The Canadian armed forces has released a statement saying that “ Recognizing the courage of transgender people can help create a welcoming and respectful environment for all.”  MH REPORTING

What do you listen to on Christian radio?

What do you listen to on Christian radio?

VERBATIM:  A wide-ranging study conducted by the Pew Research Center asked that question to the 45% of Americans who tune in religious programming regularly.  According to Pew, 37% of them listen primarily to music while 30% focus on sermons and religious services.  18% say they would rather tune in for religious talk shows and the rest prefer Christian audio dramas.  White Evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants listen to the most Christian radio.  MH REPORTING

Most Americans support gay marriage

Most Americans support gay marriage

VERBATIM:  The numbers aren’t as high as they were before, but they are still significant.  65% of respondents to a Public Religion Research Institute poll say they believe homosexuals should be allowed to legally wed.  83% of Democrats feel this way but only 49% of Republicans do.  PRRI adds that “The only states without majority support for same-sex marriage are Mississippi and Arkansas.  The highest support is in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  MH REPORTING

Easter is coming again

Easter is coming again

VERBATIM:  For the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians THIS is Holy Week with Easter to be celebrated on Sunday, the 12th.   That’s because the Orthodox Church continues to use the Julian calendar to plan its holidays, putting it behind the Gregorian calendar which the rest of the world’s Christian began using about 400 years ago.  Most Orthodox Christians live in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe and in Greece.  MH REPORTING

Views on morality have a lot to do with age

Views on morality have a lot to do with age

Christians in Iraq are still having trouble

Christians in Iraq are still having trouble

VERBATIM:  According to a new analysis by England’s  All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, Iraqi believers still face violent persecution and repression, years after ISIS was finally expelled from the country.  Christians living in the Kurdistan region are doing pretty well, but elsewhere in the country they are still being victimized by their Muslim neighbors.  Christians make up just about three percent of Iraq’s population.  MH REPORTING

People of the world are asked about homosexuality

People of the world are asked about homosexuality

VERBATIM:  The Pew Research Center poll focuses on the MORALITY of that lifestyle.  Nigeria checks in as the country where the largest number of people believe that being gay is NOT morally acceptable — 96%.  Other nations that have similar feelings include Indonesia and Turkey.  At the OTHER end of the spectrum is Sweden, where 94% think that homosexualty IS morally acceptable.  In the U.S., 60% of respondents see no problem with being gay.  MH REPORTING

A dubious honor for Mark Zuckerberg

A dubious honor for Mark Zuckerberg

VERBATIM:  Every year the National Center on Sexual Exploitation puts out its Dirty Dozen list — 12 companies it blames for contributing to exploitation.  This year the list contains 11 companies and one MAN.  Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has been named personally by the NCSE because “Under his leadership, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp have become breeding grounds for child sexual abuse, grooming, sextortion, and sex trafficking.”  MH REPORTING

An unusual decision by the Washington Post

An unusual decision by the Washington Post

VERBATIM:  The newspaper, long a bastion of liberal thought, has published an editorial criticizing the supreme court of Finland for denying the religious freedom of a member of its parliament.  Pavi Rassanen has been fined for quoting the Bible on homosexuality and the Post calls the decision a farce, adding “It’s not a crime to publish unpopular religious views”.  The paper goes on to urge Americans to cherish their First Amendment rights.  MH REPORTING

Kansas passes a law to protect pro-life pregnancy centers

Kansas passes a law to protect pro-life pregnancy centers

VERBATIM:  The measure bars any state or local government from forcing a pro-life clinic to offer or perform abortions, offer abortion drugs, counsel for abortion, refer for abortion or promote abortion in any way.”  The bill was vetoed by Kansas’ Democratic Governor Laura Kelly, but the legislature quickly moved the override and did so by wide margins.  Republicans accuse Kelly of being pro-choice, unless a woman chooses to keep her unborn baby.  MH REPORTING

Latin American voters see a role for religion in government

Latin American voters see a role for religion in government

VERBATIM:  There are looming presidential elections in Brazil, Colombia and Peru and a new poll from the Pew Research Center indicates that in each of those nations, about two-thirds of voters say they want a president who will defend their religious beliefs.  A similar percentage in each country also say they believe the Bible should be the basis for their laws and even half of non-religious people tell Pew that they feel the same way.  MH REPORTING

A leading poll-taker looks at America in its 250th birthday year

A leading poll-taker looks at America in its 250th birthday year

VERBATIM:  The Pew Research Center is marking the country’s big anniversary by compiling a vast data profile of how we have changed since the last big celebration — the bicentennial 50 years ago.  Pew reports that, amongst other things “The American family has witnessed substantial changes. Americans marry and have children at later ages than they once did, and fewer are doing these things at all. Also, a smaller share of children live with two married parents.”  MH REPORTING

Holy Week is ramping up

VERBATIM:  A lot of churches will start the weekend events with services for Maundy Thursday, which commemorate the last supper, the washing of the feet and Jesus’ instruction that “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you”.  Next is Good Friday, marking Christ’s crucifixion and then comes Easter Sunday — the most important date on the Christian calendar — when billions around the world will celebrate the resurrection.  MH REPORTING

The Pew Research Center takes a look at gay marriage worldwide

The Pew Research Center takes a look at gay marriage worldwide

VERBATIM:  It was 25 years ago this week that The Netherlands became the first nation on earth to make it legal for people of the same sex to enter into a legal marriage.  Since that day, nearly 40 countries have followed suit — including the United States.  Still, gay marriage is largely unheard of in large swatches of the globe including Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and in Africa.  The practice is mostly confined to Western Europe and the Americas.  MH REPORTING

Canada is advancing a new hate crimes law

Canada is advancing a new hate crimes law

VERBATIM:  The House of Commons has passed legislation that critics warn will criminalize quoting the Bible on issues such as homosexuality.  Pastor David Cooke tells LifeSiteNews “Christians will almost certainly face an entirely new level of hostility, as the door swings open to actual persecution under a cloak of supposed legality.  The bill now goes to the Canadian Senate, which is expected to approve it.  MH REPORTING

The abortion rate is soaring in the United Kingdom

The abortion rate is soaring in the United Kingdom

VERBATIM:  According to the latest government statistics, there were just about 300,000 abortions in the U.K. in 2023 — the last year for which all the numbers are in.  Consider that there were only about 600,000 live births in the country during the same period and the problem pro-life advocates are trying to highlight comes into sharp focus.  Meanwhile, the British government is moving to decriminalize abortion up to the moment of birth.  MH REPORTING