By World News Magazine
(WNS) – According to a survey from LifeWay Research and first reported by Religion News Service, 37 percent of Americans view homosexuality as a sin, down from 44 percent a year earlier.
“The culture is clearly shifting on homosexuality and this creates a whole new issue: How will America deal with a minority view, strongly held by evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons, Muslims, and so many others?” said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research.
The number of Americans who do not believe homosexuality is a sin remained nearly the same, at 43 percent in September 2011 and 45 percent in November 2012. There was an increase in the percentage of those who said they were unsure of what they believe.
Those who identify as “born-again, evangelical, or fundamentalist Christian” are the most likely to say that homosexual behavior is a sin (73 percent).
Conversely, those who never attend religious services are the most likely to say they do not believe homosexual behavior is a sin (71 percent).
Washington National Cathedral to Allow Same-Sex “Weddings”
(WNS) – Evangelical policy groups are not surprised by the Washington National Cathedral’s announcement Jan. 9 that same-sex “wedding” ceremonies would be allowed at the 106-year old church. “The Episcopal Church has been increasingly out of touch with Christian orthodoxy and the rest of the Anglican Communion worldwide for some time, and this only adds to that,” said Peter Sprigg of the Washington-based Family Research Council. Last November, Maryland voters approved a same-sex “marriage” ballot initiative, joining the neighboring District of Columbia in legalizing such unions. In the aftermath of the Maryland ballot result, National Cathedral officials decided to start hosting such ceremonies effective immediately.
Al-Jazeera Launches American Cable Network Incursion
(WNS) – The Pan-Arab news channel Al-Jazeera will soon infiltrate the homes of almost 40 million Americans, following its purchase Jan. 2 of Al Gore’s left-leaning cable channel Current TV.
Gore confirmed the sale, claiming in a statement Al-Jazeera shares Current TV’s mission “to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling.”
Time Warner Cable Inc., the nation’s second-largest TV operator, immediately dropped the station after the deal was confirmed.
Al-Jazeera, owned by the government of Qatar, plans to transform Current TV into a network called Al-Jazeera America by hiring more journalists and adding five to 10 new U.S. bureaus, in addition to the five it has now.
Court Blocks Ban on Gay Therapy for Minors
(WNS) – A federal appeals court shortly before Christmas blocked a California ban on “reparative therapy,” giving concerned parents the right, for now, to seek counsel for a child with homosexual tendencies.
The first-of-its-kind ban would have gone into effect yesterday, before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency order putting the law on hold until the court can hear full arguments on the measure’s constitutionality.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mathew Staver, whose Christian legal aide group represents reparative therapy practitioners and recipients in a suit seeking to overturn the law, said, “Without this emergency injunction, the State of California would essentially barge into the private therapy rooms of victimized young people and tell them that their confusion caused by the likes of a Jerry Sandusky abuser is normal and they should pursue their unwanted same-sex sexual attractions and behavior.”
“Spiritual, Not Religious” People Have More Problems
(WNS) – British researchers say people who say they are “spiritual, but not religious” are more likely to have a wide range of physical and psychological problems.
Professor Michael King, from University College London, surveyed more than 7,400 people, and divided them into categories: 35 percent described themselves as “religious.”
These people attended a church, mosque, synagogue or temple.
The overwhelming majority in this group (83 percent) were Christian. Almost half (46 percent) described themselves as neither religious nor spiritual; 19 percent were in the “spiritual but not religious” category.
According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, “Members of this final group were 77 percent more likely than the others to be dependent on drugs, 72 percent more likely to suffer from a phobia, and 50 percent more likely to have an anxiety disorder. They were also 40 percent more likely to be receiving treatment with psychotropic drugs, and at a 37 percent higher risk of neurotic disorder.”