OUR COLUMNISTS More Women Go to Church Than Men ... and What to Do About It Commentary by Matt Friedeman Many times, all things being equal, the men who win men to Christ are those who reflect the life and ministry of Jesus: they are purposeful, biblical, no-nonsense, on a mission, and invite others through personal attention to their objectives. Why I Teach Abstinence Commentary by Jane Jimenez Some would have us believe that teaching abstinence is no more than a brief exercise in repeating "NO" in unison. If that's all it is, then why bother teaching abstinence? The Soul of Soccer Commentary by Brad Locke We have our keepers of morality, and we have our uninhibited anarchists. We have our cultists, and we have our universalists. But if you want to find the median of the world's morality, you don't really have to look any further than a soccer stadium. Papal Souvenirs! Get 'em While They're Hot! Commentary by David Sisler When Pope John Paul II passed away, it opened the floodgates for the gluttonous and the unappeasable. Shortly after his death, John Paul II souvenirs numbered over 12,000 on eBay. Now they are down to about 5,000. I guess folks are gobbling up the goodies. A Dark Day for North Carolina Commentary by Mark Creech It was certainly one of the saddest days of my life. The arguments made by certain lawmakers on the floor of the North Carolina House in favor of the lottery were unbelievably shallow and morally bankrupt!

...Seventy-seven-year-old Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany is the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He will take the name Pope Benedict XVI. The announcement was made today (April 19) at the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and was greeted with clapping and flag waving by the thousands of people in St. Peter's Square. Ratzinger, who served as Pope John Paul II's chief theological advisor for 20 years, is the 265th pope selected to lead the Catholic Church. Ratzinger -- who was "more on the liberal side" when he was younger and is considered one of the most powerful men in the Vatican, says About.com -- has been a leading person to keep traditional values in the Catholic Church. [Jody Brown]

...A leader in the movement to reform mainline Protestantism has passed away. Fifty-three-year-old Diane Knippers died yesterday (April 18) in a Virginia hospital after battling colon cancer for more than a year. Knippers was president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a Washington, DC-based think tank that actively opposes liberalism in mainline denominations. As an Episcopalian, Knippers was an outspoken critic of the consecration of openly homosexual Bishop Vicki Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, and recently called for Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold to step down. According to conservative Anglican theologian Kendall Harmon of South Carolina, Knipper's death is "our loss but heaven's gain." [Jim Brown]

...Has Proctor & Gamble "cleaned up its act"? It appears that is the case, says the American Family Association -- and that's why the pro-family group has suspended its boycott of one of the largest manufacturers of home and personal care products in the world. In conjunction with other family advocacy groups like Focus on the Family, last fall AFA encouraged its supporters to stop purchasing certain P&G products because of the company's continued support for the homosexual agenda. According to AFA, P&G was the "leading sponsor of [television] programming that normalized homosexuality." As evidence, AFA notes the millions of dollars in advertising that P&G lavished on such programs as Will and Grace and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. In addition, the group says, the company sponsored "gay pride" parades and "gay workshops advocating acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle" that employees were forced to attend. Now AFA chairman and founder Don Wildmon is calling off the embargo. "We cannot say they are 100 percent clean, and we ask our supporters to let us know if they discover P&G again being involved in pushing the homosexual lifestyle. But judging by all we found in our research, it appears that our concerns have been addressed," Wildmon says. "Insofar as we can tell by our monitoring, P&G has stopped their sponsorship of TV programs promoting the homosexual lifestyle ... and their sponsorship of homosexual Internet sites." According to an AFA press release, nearly 400,000 of its supporters signed the pledge to boycott the corporation. [Jody Brown]

...A pastor whose mobilization against homosexual "marriage" helped President Bush win the state of Ohio and re-election in November is taking his values campaign nationwide. Rev. Rod Parsley of Columbus is speaking in 11 cities this week and next week as president and founder of the Center for Moral Clarity. The new group opposes same-sex marriage, abortion, and judicial activism and wants Congress to repeal the law that bars tax-exempt churches from endorsing candidates. Parsley's "Silent No More Tour" will be in Jonesboro, Georgia, this evening. Tomorrow he will be at the Michigan church of Bishop Keith Butler, a candidate for the U.S. Senate. [AP]

...Polls indicate more Americans think abortion is a bad thing, but one pro-life activist believes many still haven't come to grips with the issue. A recent abortion poll found that 61 percent of Americans feel that abortion is almost always a bad decision. While some pro-lifers celebrate that poll, Judie Brown of American Life League says a huge problem still remains. "I do believe that the average American honestly understands that abortion kills a baby -- but the average American also does not want to infringe upon somebody else's rights," Brown observes. "Somehow, in the way we talk about abortion in the culture, we've divorced the humanity of the child who dies from this 'issue.'" That a woman's choice predominates the life of a child, she says, is a very difficult position to defend. "Intellectually, there's a disconnect with the vast majority of Americans, and we need to keep talking about the baby, the baby, the baby -- because people are not seeing the baby as the victim of the choice," Brown says. Until that perception changes, the ALL president does not believe legalized abortion can come to an end in America. [Bill Fancher]

...Describing themselves as "the real civil-rights community," a group of 50 black pastors and citizens converged on the State Capitol in Sacramento yesterday (April 19) to voice their strong support for traditional marriage -- and their disgust with legislators who are trying to push through a "same-sex marriage bill." A spokesman for the group says AB 19 is "nothing more than an attempt to get around the will of the voters of California." Craig DeLuz, a Sacramento black community leader, had a warning for state legislators regarding the legislation. "You're no longer going to be able to slink into the corners of this building and pass legislation with us being completely unaware," he said. "You will either support the will of the people -- or the people will make sure that you no longer represent us." DeLuz also made it clear that the California chapter of the NAACP, which has come out in favor of AB 19, does not speak for his coalition of black pastors and citizens. "Unlike the NAACP, we understand that marriage is between one man and one woman," he said. Brenda Bennett's group, the Sacramento Alliance for Civil Rights, hosted the press conference in the capital city. She said the African-American community is "offended" when homosexual activists compare their fight for same-sex marriage to the fight for minority rights. "It is not a civil right for anyone to be married. Marriage is a privilege; it is not a right," Bennett stated. "The civil rights movement was not fought for that issue." AB 19 is scheduled for a hearing before the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 26. The measure is co-authored by 25 state legislators -- all Democrats. [Jody Brown]

...A Canadian pro-family activist says he is very optimistic that there will soon be an election in Canada that will effectively kill the homosexual marriage bill. Brian Rushfeldt, co-founder of the Canadian Family Action Coalition, has been working diligently to convince members of Parliament not to support the amendment drafted by the Liberals which is aimed at legalizing same-sex marriage. While the second reading of that motion may come today or next week, Rushfeldt believes many Liberals are growing fearful of supporting homosexual marriage. He says because of the Gomery Commission and corruption among the Liberals, an election could occur any day. "Some of the Liberal [members of Parliament] are beginning to be very fearful that if there is an election call and [if] they have voted on the wrong side of this marriage issue, that may be the end of their political career," Rushfeldt says. And if an election is called, he adds, that would not be good news for supporters of the measure. "If the election was going to be in June, there would be no way this would get to third reading and get passed into legislation," he says. "So, in effect, when the election gets called, if it is called for June, then Bill C-38 is dead until after the next Parliament is formed." Rushfeldt is optimistic that the Conservatives have a good chance of winning this time and forming a new government. [Chad Groening]

...A father whose son committed suicide after using anabolic steroids says testing high school athletes is a necessary deterrent to steroid use. In the wake of congressional hearings and revelations of steroid use in Texas high schools, the state is considering mandatory testing of student athletes. Don Hooten believes his son Taylor's death two years ago was related to the psychological effects of steroid use. Hooten says right now, parents are ignorant of the steroid problem, coaches claim they are, and even some family doctors are not familiar with the side effects of performance enhancing drugs. "It's a sad statement to say that we need to be testing our 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old kids," he says, "but the more I get involved in this crusade and become familiar with the problem, I don't believe we stand a chance at licking this thing -- at beating it -- unless we implement testing, even if it's random." Hooten says just like in professional sports, one never knows who is using steroids unless testing is done. More importantly, he says, testing gives kids a reason to say no. [Jim Brown]

...For almost an entire generation, the concept of self-esteem has been tortured into an ideology so steeped in political correctness as to drive people with common sense mad. Now, however, the proverbial pendulum may be swinging back the other way. An article in USA Today (February 15, 2005) focused on the growing concern of more and more parents, psychologists, and educators who believe the self-esteem message needs to be balanced with a generous dose of reality. USA Today writer Sharon Jayson said no one is discounting the fact that a healthy self-esteem is beneficial to children. But Jayson said more adults are realizing that "empty praise -- the kind showered on many kids years ago in the name of self-esteem -- did more harm than good." Years of such "empty praise," she said, often result in young adults who cannot cope even with constructive criticism, have an inflated sense of self-importance, and have a great sense of personal entitlement -- often without having paid their dues. [AFA Journal]

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