The Briefing, Wednesday October 24, 2012

In today’s edition of The Briefing I talk about the issue of abortion in the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign, with a particular reference to a controversy surrounding comments made by Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan. Rep. Ryan affirmed the personhood of every human being from conception until natural death. In response, MSNBC host Chris Matthews argued that Ryan’s view — held by millions of pro-life Americans — is “almost like Sharia,” a reference to Islamic law.

What Matthews failed to acknowledge is that the law absolutely requires a definition of human personhood, explicit or implied. That definition will be determined on some basis and will ascribe human personhood at some point along the continuum of human development. The pro-life position is that full human dignity must be recognized at conception or some human beings — indeed millions of human beings — will have that dignity and right to life denied.

I also discuss a recent Gallup Poll indicating that the total percentage of GLBT Americans (those who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered) is 3.4% — not the 10-25% often assumed or claimed by many Americans.

I then turn to discuss the finding that American boys are now entering puberty earlier than in previous generations. This points to an increasing distance between male puberty and the age of marriage. The delay of marriage and the extension of adolescence becomes an even more pressing challenge.

Finally, I talk about a recent story out of California in which a group promoting the practice of yoga has put over $500,000 behind an effort to teach yoga to children in the public schools of one community. A group of parents is rightly concerned that there is no way to remove Hinduism from yoga, despite the claims of the school district.

The Briefing is a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview. You can listen here.

Links to articles I discuss in the program can be found here.