A growing number of researchers and observers are beginning to take note of a huge demographic reality — those who take belief in God most seriously tend to have more babies. For many years, the conventional wisdom has held that demography determines destiny. Well, now it appears that theology determines demography.

USA Today is out with a report on a new research project that deserves our attention.  It seems that high school graduates surveyed in 2006 consider themselves much more likely to succeed in life when compared to the self-assessment offered by graduates in 1975.

I had the privilege of preaching in chapel at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary on November 6.  I preached a message entitled, “How Not to Raise a Pagan,” drawn from Deuteronomy 6.  The audio and video are now available here.  It was a great privilege to preach to the seminary community at Southeastern, where my great friend Danny Akin is president.

Alan E. Kazdin is a frustrated man, and it’s America’s parents who are frustrating him.  These parents are, of all things, prone to use an occasional spanking in disciplining their children.  Dr. Kazdin’s great frustration is that these parents insist on doing what seems right to them, and thus they are ignoring or rejecting the fact that “science” shows that spankings don’t work.

Alan E. Kazdin is a frustrated man, and it’s America’s parents who are frustrating him.  These parents are, of all things, prone to use an occasional spanking in disciplining their children.  Dr. Kazdin’s great frustration is that these parents insist on doing what seems right to them, and thus they are ignoring or rejecting the fact that “science” shows that spankings don’t work.

The concept of adoption is nearly universal.  In the classic sense it is the formal and legally recognized act of willingly receiving someone else’s child as your own.  In contrast to temporary guardianship or foster arrangements, adoption is permanent.  Legally, adoption establishes a new identity for the child.  In many cases around the world, adoption can mean the difference between life and death.

The concept of adoption is nearly universal.  In the classic sense it is the formal and legally recognized act of willingly receiving someone else’s child as your own.  In contrast to temporary guardianship or foster arrangements, adoption is permanent.  Legally, adoption establishes a new identity for the child.  In many cases around the world, adoption can mean the difference between life and death.

My guess is that most Americans assume that the practice of the bar mitzvah is a centuries-old norm among the Jewish people. That assumption is wrong, but the real story of the bar mitzvah is truly interesting. In Thirteen and a Day: The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Across America, author Mark Oppenheimer traces the history of the bar mitzvah and what it represents (or does not represent) in terms of the Jewish experience.