Barna Research Group Study
Focus on the Family cites a Barna Research Group study as saying that only 9% of professing Christians have a biblical worldview. To quote FotF:
Because of this, today's believers live very similarly to non-believers. A personal sense of significance is rarely experienced, we spend our money and time on things that fail to satisfy and we begin to wonder what life's ultimate purpose really is. We are, in short, losing our bearings as a people and a nation.
Therefore, Focus on the Family has created a dvd series entitled "The Truth Project" intended to train Christians to have a "biblical worldview".
Okay, so I tell you all of that in order to point out the following stories from the Focus on the Family website:
"A Heart Turned to Truth" with the tagline of: An abortion advocate's rhetoric failed when God used Focus on the Family to confront her with the truth.
"Homosexuality: Are People Born Gay" where the point is for Melissa Fryrear to search for flaws in studies that "prove" homosexuality is genetic.
"Effects of Viewing Pornography" which compares viewing porn to having a cocaine addiction.
Some headlines found on their website:
Casinos Press for Wireless Gambling
Abortion-Law Analysis Called Faulty
Pro-Family Groups Hail South Dakota Abortion Ban
Maryland Lawmaker Calls for Removal of Activist Judge
Fair and balanced they ain't!
Anyway, that's all I have the stomach for right now. I think my main problem with FotF is not that they are trying to help believers have a "Christian worldview" but rather that they spend a lot of time and money, money donated from people all over the world, trying to change and influence public policy. I think it's great that Christians have such a comprehensive resource for finding information on their beliefs, I just don't think it's okay for them to be trying to control or influence what I believe.
I know the few stories I linked don't really show the lobbying side of Focus on the Family, but I've known this organization my whole life. My parents whole-heartedly support FotF and so do many other Christians. But just trust me when I say, they have an agenda that will hurt America. Not because they are trying to get back to "traditional values" (although that really pisses me off too...so much so, in fact, that it deserves its own entry on this blog) but because they're trying to force those traditional values onto all of us. And unfortunately, sometimes they succeed. Don't believe me? Check out their radio show sometime.
3 comments:
You might want to try calling them "Leviticans":
http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/002675.html
"Effects of Viewing Pornography" which compares viewing porn to having a cocaine addiction.
This is as much an indication that their understanding of cocaine use and addiction. It is commonly understood that sexual arousal has a similar impact on the brain that cocaine use has. So they see that cocaine use would have a similar effect to pornography, and conflate pornography with addiction.
The problem is that they're making an assumed connection between cocaine use and cocaine addiction which is not really the case. Pornography may have a similar effect on the brain, but it is not the same. It is therefore a simple matter to view pornography without addiction.
Of course, it is also entirely possible to use cocaine recreationally without developing an addiction. However, it is impossible to tell ahead of time whether an addiction will result, and instant addiction is a possibility, so I certainly don't recomend recreational cocaine use. But it is important to understand that despite the hype, not everyone who uses cocaine has a problem with cocaine.
Also, in case I didn't make this clear, I have no problem with Christians. My problem comes when any religious institution tries to create and or revise public policy that will have an effect on all of us. My main problem with FotF (besides their lobbying) is that they take money from people everywhere and then use it to further their own causes, all in the name of God. People follow this organization blindly and will actually seek out Dr. Dobson's opinion before voting on issues. That's just scary to me.
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