OUR COLUMNISTS Time to Define 'Quiver' for Your Young Men and Women Commentary by Matt Friedeman No politician that I know of has really addressed this problem of fatherlessness, nor has a prominent religious leader. We seem to be oblivious to what ails us. Blessed is the man, says the Psalmist, whose quiver is full of sons. Serious Death and Destruction Commentary by Jane Jimenez Miles under the ocean's surface, off the coast of Sumatra, the plates of the ocean floor have once again collided in the tremendous force of an earthquake. Unseen by the human eye, the earthquake threatens possible tragedy ... even as America suffers our own earthquake of a different kind. All News Is Doping News Commentary by Brad Locke Various thoughts on legislating sports, opening day for Major League Baseball, and use of doping products in sports. The Heat in the Kitchen Commentary by David Sisler There is a sad attitude in our world today which says our individual sins should not be pointed out and that we should therefore not be held accountable. It is time and past time for Christians to hold up the standard of righteousness and call evil what it is. Which Is the Greater Sin? Commentary by Mark Creech As the debate for a state-operated lottery in North Carolina intensifies, one rationale by certain lawmakers in favor of the measure contends: "If you think the lottery is sinful, it's more sinful not to educate our children." This approach to morality can be extremely dangerous.

...A Christian activist in the Tar Heel State says members of the North Carolina House have "just sold the state's soul to the devil." Yesterday (April 6), lawmakers in that state body pushed through legislation that would create a state lottery. Following a close 61-59 victory, the measure passed on a voice vote after a third reading of the bill -- a step that Mark Creech of the Christian Action League of North Carolina says prevented lottery opponents from having one more day to change the outcome of the vote. "Only one more vote was needed to turn the matter around," Creech exclaims. "Today [April 6] is certainly one of the saddest days in my life. Lottery proponents are grinning from ear to ear [and are] quite proud of themselves. They have pulled it off." He adds that it was "truly sad" that a large delegation of North Carolina students watched and listened from the gallery as the vote took place. But Creech emphasizes the fight is not over as the bill now moves to the State Senate. "Never before in the history of our state has it been more important for pastors, lay people, church members, and every concerned person ... who doesn't want to see state-sponsored gambling to get on the phone and call their senator," he exhorts. [Jody Brown]

...Rev. Jerry Falwell is back home again after his second hospitalization in two months. He was released Wednesday from Virginia's Lynchburg General Hospital, nine days after being admitted in respiratory arrest. Doctors had to resuscitate him. Rev. Jonathan Falwell says doctors believe fluid leaking from his father's lungs led to a buildup of pressure on the heart, causing the respiratory failure. The younger Falwell says doctors determined that his father's heart is "strong as an ox," and that the respiratory problem can be treated with prescription drugs. In February, Falwell -- who is 71 -- was hospitalized for 13 days for what was called a viral infection. He spent part of that stay on a ventilator. [AP]

...Concerned Women for America, living up to its name, is concerned about how polling data was used to mislead the American public during the Terri Schiavo case last month. The group says a "mass orchestration of public opinion, based on profoundly erroneous information" kept Americans in the dark about Terri's actual condition. But CWA says when a new Zogby poll properly described the Florida woman's condition -- something the organization says did not happen in earlier polls -- 80 percent of respondents opposed the starvation order handed down by a Florida judge. Robert Knight, director of CWA's Culture and Family Institute, says as Judge George Greer "openly flouted" a subpoena from Congress and the Florida Senate rejected emergency legislation that could have resulted in the woman's feeding tube being reinserted, polls indicated that most Americans were in apparent agreement with Terri's treatment. "Yet, when Americans are given accurate information [as he says the Zogby poll provided], the polling comes out quite differently," Knight says. In retrospect, the pro-life advocate says "it's awful to watch as your fellow Americans are kept in the dark, asked their opinion, and then that manufactured opinion is used as a political hammer." [Jody Brown]

...A Michigan church has been criticized for promoting its anti-pornography campaign with billboards publicizing a "Porn Weekend." Westwinds Community Church spokesman Randy Shafer told a local newspaper (The Jackson Citizen Patriot) that "pornography is such a huge issue and usually is not discussed in church." He said Westwinds sought to "hit it head-on and get people talking about it." He said Porn Weekend was meant to educate the community on the effects of the sex trade in magazines, movies, TV, and the Internet, and to offer help for those caught up in it. But some Jackson County residents complained that the billboards were offensive and hard to explain to their children. [AP]

...Associated Press says the openly homosexual bishop who was "the wedge that split" an Episcopal church in New Hampshire last year had the honor recently to preside over that congregation's final service. The Church of the Redeemer in Rochester had fallen on hard financial times even before V. Gene Robinson was appointed as the Episcopal bishop for the state of New Hampshire. But three dozen church members walked out last summer when Robinson prevented the church from operating outside of his diocese. According to AP, Robinson called the final service a "bittersweet moment" that promoted healing of the divisions within the church. In 1988, the report says, more than 100 members left the Church of the Redeemer after the denomination approved female clergy and modernized its Book of Common Prayer. [Jody Brown]

...One of the nation's leading homosexual groups will honor Howard Dean on Thursday night (April 7). According to MetroWeekly, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is giving the former Democratic presidential hopeful its lifetime achievement award for his support of homosexual issues. Dean was recently elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, with the hope that he can help the party recover from its humiliating election defeat last fall. Many analysts say that defeat was the result of pro-family people believing the Democrats no longer represent traditional values. [Fred Jackson]

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