Current Events Archives

Ghastly Revelation Gives Abortion Debate a Moment of Clarity

The news came as a shocker to many: British hospitals were incinerating the remains of aborted and miscarried babies to heat their facilities.

How can we not be aghast at this news… at this act committed against these precious little bodies?

As The Telegraph reports, England’s “Department of Health issued an instant ban on the practice which health minister Dr. Dan Poulter branded ‘totally unacceptable.’”

Indeed, it is “totally unacceptable” that parents who had just lost their child weren’t consulted on what they wanted to happen to their babies’ remains.

Topics: Current Events Tags: news, pro-life April 1, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

World Vision’s Reversal Is the Right Decision

Since its founding in 1950, World Vision has put the teachings of Jesus Christ into daily practice around the world by feeding and caring for those in dire need. As a ministry, it’s been one the great gems of evangelical Christendom. The organization has made – and is making – a dramatic difference in the lives of countless individuals.

Which is why I was so perplexed and concerned after learning of their policy change allowing their employees to live in homosexual marriage.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, homosexuality, news March 26, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Please Pray for Religious Liberties Cases before the Supreme Court Today

Today the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments for two cases that will have far-reaching implications for our religious freedom: Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius.

I’d like to ask for you to please pray about these cases – but before I go into specific prayer requests, I want to share a bit about why they’re so important.

Both cases have to do with objections the families who own these for-profit companies have to certain requirements found in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news, policy, pro-life, religious liberty March 25, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Businessman’s Kindness Towards Girl with Autism Hope-Renewing

You may have seen the headlines:

– Hotel guest leaves nasty letter for parents of crying baby

– Panera Bread kicks out toddler with disability over orthopedic shoes, mom says

– Restaurant bans kids at night, joins others in adding child-free policy

Sometimes it seems like the culture is making our job as parents more difficult. While I understand that some moms and dads can be overly permissive, there are signs that the general public’s tolerance towards children seems to be waning.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, news, parenting March 14, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Father Who Wished His Son Had Never Been Born

Peter Lanza is still reeling at his son’s death.

That’s understandable because Peter’s son was Adam Lanza, the young man who killed his own mother plus 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School before taking his own life in December 2012.

In a series of interviews with The New Yorker’s Andrew Solomon, Peter breaks his silence and opens up about his son.

Yet there’s only one line in the 7,600-word article that’s making headlines: “Peter declared that he wished Adam had never been born.”

Wow.

Topics: Current Events Tags: kids, news, parenting March 11, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Did You See What This 8-Year-Old Boy Did?

If you were 8 years old and found a $20 bill in a parking lot of Cracker Barrel, what would you do with it?

Many people have asked themselves that after they watched a video featuring Myles Eckert, a young boy whose soldier dad was killed in Iraq just five weeks after Myles was born.

The influence of a father – even one who has been gone so long – runs deep, and it prompted Myles to do something beautiful on that chilly February morning: He decided to take that $20 bill and “pay it forward.”

Watch the moving piece below:

Myles inspired a blogger at Dad Matters, too.

Topics: Current Events Tags: kids, news, parenting March 7, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

“Son of God” Jesus Epic Opens Tomorrow

This past weekend at the National Religious Broadcasters event in Nashville, I had the pleasure of meeting with a wide array of Christian leaders, executives and creatives, all looking to help spread the Good News.

Among those I met with were two very good friends, Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, who we’ve had the opportunity to work with on various occasions. These committed Christians were behind last year’s hit miniseries, “The Bible,” which helped make faith part of the national conversation and compelled many people to dust off their Bibles and read them again.

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, faith, pop culture February 27, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What’s the Best Christian Response to the Mistreatment of Homosexuals?

In various countries around the world, homosexuals are being beaten and even killed with their governments’ approval.

For example, in Nigeria, a recent law criminalizing homosexuality provides punishments, like whippings, to men who are caught having homosexual relations. The New York Times reports that crowds in the African nation are demanding their local officials to go even further, because local Islamic law requires the penalty for such an act to be death by stoning. In many places these same types of punishments are also meted out for other nonmarital sexual behaviors.

Topics: Current Events Tags: church, faith, homosexuality, news, pro-life February 25, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Are Some Christians Really Supporting “Homosexual Jim Crow Laws?”

It should come as no surprise that sometimes well-meaning, sincere Christians can disagree with each other on how to best live out their faith. Sometimes, those differences can run deep.

For example, in Jesus’ time, we see an example of two disciples who had vastly different political views. There was Matthew, a former tax collector – he was a Jewish representative of the Roman government. There was also Simon the Zealot – he was part of a group that actively sought to violently overturn that same Roman government.

Topics: Current Events Tags: homosexuality, news, policy, religious liberty February 24, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: This Pastor Forgave the Man Who Killed His Wife, Son in Crash

Sometimes, God’s biggest miracles are what He does in our hearts. Just ask Erik Fitzgerald and Matthew Swatzell.

Swatzell, then 20, was on his way home after working a busy 24-hour shift as a firefighter and EMT. He had slept only 30 minutes during his shift, and had fallen asleep at the wheel two miles from his house. What awoke him was the sound of his vehicle crashing head-on into a car driven by 30-year-old June Fitzgerald.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news, pastors February 21, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura