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Pontius Pilate would feel very much at home in our culture. His cynical question — “What is truth?” (Jn 18:38) — captures the prevailing mindset of our day. It provides a three-word summary of relativism — the view that objective truth does not exist, that there is not objective “right” or “wrong” about human behavior. Relativism refuses to limit or define human behavior. All is relative and depends on the situation, the culture, the person, etc.Although often depicted as a courageous rebellion against forces of intolerance and persecution, relativism is really cowardice. Because truth requires something of us. Pontius Pilate...

A life coach’s open letter to Carrie Prejean, including some suggested affirmations: Dear Carrie -- Since you’ve decided to put yourself in the spotlight by writing a book about your experience in the Miss USA pageant, and subsequently invite all forms of reaction to it, I’m writing to put in my two cents. I don’t know you, but after reading Still Standing it seems that what you think about gay marriage is small potatoes. Your story is about so much more than that now. It’s about shining a scathing spotlight on that throwback to the 1950s -- the pageant circuit....

Plenty of celebrities issued crazy statements in their efforts to defend director and rapist Roman Polanski but none went as far as author Gore Vidal did when he labeled Polanski's victim a "young hooker." In an Oct. 28 interview with The Atlantic's John Meroney about a variety of topics, Vidal claimed he didn't "give a f---" about the Polanski case. "Look, am I going to sit and weep every time a young hooker feels as though she's been taken advantage of?" Vidal claimed "there was a totally different story at the time that doesn't resemble anything that we're now being...

Controversy Erupts as Catholic Bishop Asks Pro-Gay Bishop Not to Enter His Diocese By Peter J. Smith MARQUETTE, Michigan, October 13, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A public controversy has erupted between two bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, with one of the youngest bishops in the country publicly taking on one of his own colleagues in an effort to defend the Church's teachings on homosexuality and other issues. Marquette Bishop Alexander K. Sample, 49-years-old and one of the youngest US Catholic bishops, recently banned Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, 79, a retired auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit and...

According to the popular television personality and psychologist, Dr. Phil --­ who wades through the intimate details of his guests' as well as his professional clients' lives -- there is an epidemic of "sexless marriages" these days. His observations coincide with recent articles in popular magazines like Time and Newsweek and in more upscale journals like The Atlantic, Salon, Psychology Today and First Things. In the midst of a sex-saturated culture, overflowing with dramatic images of the female anatomy, a new phenomenon has developed: men losing interest in sex. Even the prolific political columnist, Mark Steyn has weighed in, asking,...

It's the kind of astute analysis you'd expect from MSNBC - the place for the politics. CNBC regular and MSNBC fill-in anchor Donny Deutsch solved the mystery behind the media's fascination with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. According to the former advertising executive, it has nothing to do with her stance on several hot-button issues - an advocate of gun rights, a pro-life stance on abortion, pro-exploration and drilling for oil and concerned about the fiscal policies of President Barack Obama. Instead, he contended, it is her sexual appeal that held the media's attention - and not just from a...

Now that Ben has had his final day at a west Omaha Catholic school, the 8-year-old gets to give away the last of his boy clothes — his school uniform — and live full time as the person inside: Katie

Denver, Colo., May 12, 2009 / 12:48 am (CNA).- Renowned Catholic thinker Dr. Alice von Hildebrand has criticized Theology of the Body speaker Christopher West, saying his approach has become too self-assured. She criticized his presentations as irreverent and insensitive to the “tremendous dangers” of concupiscence. Also cautious of West’s remarks on his recent interview with ABC television were Mary Shivanandan and Fr. José Granados, both Catholic authors and theologians. The news segment showed him calling for Catholics to complete “what the sexual revolution began.” He also described “very profound” historical connections between Hugh Hefner and Pope John Paul II.

Women with brains have more fun in bed than the average bimbo, new research suggests. A study of more than 2,000 female twins showed that those with greater emotional intelligence had larger numbers of orgasms. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to monitor and manage feelings and emotions in oneself and others. The findings suggest that low EI is a risk factor for female orgasmic disorder, one of the most common sexual problems suffered by women. Up to 30 per cent of women find it difficult or impossible to reach a climax during sexual intercourse. Professor Tim Spector, director of...

For those who were shocked by Obama "faith" advisor Harry Knox knocking the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic men's group, as an "army of oppression," he is not alone. Gay activists are now taking pride in getting Knights charity drives crushed at supermarkets. Metro Weekly, a D.C-based gay "news" magazine, honored a man for his "Storefront Stand" -- he harassed Knights of Columbus volunteers raising funds for the mentally disabled (usually with Tootsie Roll candies) outside a Safeway store in northern Virginia. Allison also succeeded in getting other Knights thrown off one Giant supermarket's property. To passers-by at Safeway, Brad...

Federal lawsuit claims Eastern Michigan University dismissed grad student from counseling program for her views on homosexuality by Amanda Hamon | The Ann Arbor News Monday April 06, 2009, 9:49 AM A national legal group has filed a lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University on behalf of a graduate student who allegedly was dismissed from a counseling program because of her beliefs about homosexuality.The complaint was filed Thursday with the U.S. District Court in Detroit, according to a federal database of lawsuits.The Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom says student Julea Ward was dismissed from her graduate program in March...

Where sex and babies are concerned, it seems we’ve lost even the slightest inclination to aspire to the better angels of our nature. Today respect, responsibility, nobility, generosity, decency, trust, sacrifice, and love are discarded in favor of individual “freedom” and “choice.” Why bother practicing self-control, why bother treating the opposite sex with respect and behaving with honor, when one can just eliminate any unintended “punishments” and carry on as though no one was hurt and nothing was lost. Men are being reduced to simply their DNA (and only when that’s needed), women are further reduced to objects used for...

ABC’s has a history of pushing the boundaries between normal and abnormal sexuality – the pregnant man, transgenderism, bisexuality, incest – but the April 8 “Good Morning America” pushed the line to a new level with its report on “objectum sexuals.” “Objectum sexuals,” as defined by ABC’s Kate Snow, are people whose “intimate life revolves around objects, not people.” Erika Eiffel, an “objectum sexual” who changed her last name to Eiffel as a reflection of the commitment ceremony she had with the famous Parisian landmark, further explained “we feel an innate connection with objects. It comes perfectly normal to us,...

Hooking Up & Nothingness by: Heather Latham, April 08, 2009 “No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That’s why perfume and deodorant are so popular.” So says 9-year-old Jan about why people fall in love. Howard, age 8, said, “The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, the you should marry them and have kids with them. It’s the right thing to do.” Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney, Jr., MD, quoted Jan and Howard along with five other children—each giving his or her opinions about love—at a Family...

THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING VOICES The myth of Ashton By Meredith Goldstein, Globe Staff  |  March 25, 2009 Maureen Trickett, an event organizer for 8minuteDating.com, had an idea based on all the hype surrounding younger men dating older women. She decided last year to plan an event specifically for that demographic - ... and the boyish men who love them.Trickett posted the event online, and women quickly signed up. But the men - they were slow to show interest. After only six men registered, the event was canceled."I need eight men," Trickett explained. "If I...

Like most mothers Lucy Baxter wants her child to live a fully rounded life - including the experience of a physical relationship and even finding love. But her 21-year-old son Otto has Down's syndrome and has had trouble finding a partner. So she is appealing for women to come forward so Otto can 'enjoy the same experiences as other men his age'. She says she is even prepared to go so far as to pay for a prostitute for her adopted son. Miss Baxter, 50, also hopes he may one day become a father - despite the controversy this may...

Pornography Prep Schools by: Daniel Allen, January 16, 2009 What did your sixth grader learn at school today? There is a good chance that she learned how to use a condom, or learned about homosexual relations from a gay activist. Or maybe it was a more innocent lesson about the importance of jihad, and how to pray to Allah. Tomorrow it might be a lesson about suicide, or a class discussion about “stupid rules at home” and parental incompetence. The unfortunate truth, as documented in From Crayons to Condoms: The Ugly Truth about America’s Public Schools, a collection of stories...

BRITISH men and women are now the most promiscuous of any big western industrial nation, researchers have found. In an international index measuring one-night stands, total numbers of partners and attitudes to casual sex, Britain comes out ahead of Australia, the US, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. The researchers behind the study say high scores such as Britain’s may be linked to the way society is increasingly willing to accept sexual promiscuity among women as well as men. They also believe that, among certain age groups and at certain times, men and women are equally liberal.

Raising Transgender Awareness by: Deborah Lambert, September 26, 2008 Transgender students at Yale are concerned that the school is not focusing enough time and energy into providing “gender-neutral housing,” according to Anthony Paletta on mindingthecampus.com. School spokesmen explained that their efforts are being hampered by the residential housing layout on campus. But “Yale’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, pointing to what they say is a disturbingly low number of openly transgender students on campus, are pushing the University to do more to make Yale feel welcoming to transgender students. “Yale is currently one of only two Ivy League schools...

Female transsexuals may have their genes to blame for feeling like they belong to the wrong sex. Scientists identified a specific gene variant in female-to-male transsexuals that meant they had been exposed to higher levels of sex hormones during their early development. Almost half the female-to-male transsexuals in the study carried the gene variant.

Paul VI versus Playboy By Donald DeMarco In 1986, Brother Don Fleischhacker of the University of Notre Dame wrote a letter to Playboy protesting that magazine's fragmented view of human sexuality. Citing "Humanae Vitae," this intrepid Holy Cross religious reasoned that once "the contraceptive mentality is accepted, there can be no coherent objective ground for opposition to homosexual activity." If the unitive aspect of sex becomes an end in itself, he went on to explain, "There is no essential reason why sex should be restricted to couples of different sexes." Recent events have proven that Brother Don was as prophetic...

Who is Planned Parenthood’s newest spokesman? Mr. Molester stars in Planned Parenthood’s latest disgusting attempt to indoctrinate kids. Be sure to watch the latest ALL Report on what your tax dollars have made possible! copy and paste this link http://allreport.blip.tv/#1128425 your url, and please ... FORWARD THE VIDEO TO YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

It’s the summer of talking about the summer of ‘68. And back during that infamous summer, there was sex — an encyclical on sex, that is: Humanae Vitae, from Pope Paul VI, issued on July 25. Its message is being heard and misheard as much now as then. It would be for the benefit of all — Catholics and non-Catholics alike — to give it a 40th-anniversary look. Even Jessica Valenti, author of the new book He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know, might find it more helpful than she’ll care to...

You know that old adage ‘use it or lose it’? The saying can now be applied toward men and sex, according to new research involving erectile dysfunction, Reuters reported Monday. The July issue of the American Journal of Medicine reports that older men who have sex more than once a week are less likely to develop ED.

Bachelorhood And Its Discontents by Christopher Orlet (July 2008) Leibniz never married. He had considered it at the age of fifty; but the person he had in mind asked for time to reflect. This gave Leibniz time to reflect, too, and so he never married. — Bernard Fontenelle In a 1994 New Yorker piece commenting on a report that the Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser had strangled his wife to death, the pseudoprofound literary critic George Steiner pondered why it should have taken the Marxist philosopher so long to do the old biddy in. “Perhaps philosophers should strangle their wives,” wrote...

It was 2000 and I was at a dinner party in Cairo. I was sitting with *Malak, a belly dancer, and we were eyeing up a young woman who had large oval eyes thickly lined with black kohl and a wide mouth painted salmon. It was the first time Malak and I had seen her at Haroun’s house. After she’d been introduced around to the group of friends—dancers, actresses, businessmen, and me, an American anthropologist—that met every Thursday night for drinks and dinner, Malak looked her up and down skeptically, and then she said to me in a low voice,...

News Release OFFICE OF MEDIA RELATIONS 703-413-1100 x5117 and 310-451-6913media@rand.org FOR RELEASE Tuesday June 10, 2008 Virginity Pledges May Help Postpone Intercourse Among Youth Making a virginity pledge may help some young people postpone the start of sexual activity, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Researchers found that adolescents who made pledges to remain virgins until they are married were less likely to be sexually active over the three-year study period than other youth who were similar to them, but who did not make a virginity pledge, according to the study published online by the Journal of Adolescent...

Exactly 15 years ago this week the world first heard the story of John Wayne and Lorena Bobbitt. John Wayne, an ex-Marine, was accused of coming home drunk and raping his wife. Lorena was accused of retaliating by cutting off her husband's penis while he was asleep. Lorena went from anonymous to notorious - her story the subject of countless newspaper and magazine articles. Now in her first ever network morning show interview she discusses how she's using her notoriety to help others. "All of a sudden, my private life is out in the open and it's an open book...

Dear sexuality task force, First I must compliment you, the Human Sexuality Task Force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, on a well-documented and thorough study of the sexuality issue. You have put much work into a very difficult subject, and at the present I’m not sure what more you could do given your stated assignment and the lay of the land. I felt that you tried to be open to all views, but I do have some critical comments that I hope will help bring this topic to light from a different perspective. First I have to comment...

Anti-Catholic Education by: Malcolm A. Kline, March 14, 2008 The faithful are increasingly likely to face hostility to their beliefs in secular educational settings, the Catholic League’s 2007 Report on Anti-Catholicism shows: • On February 21, 2007, “A substitute teacher wiped the Ash Wednesday ashes off the forehead of a student at White County High School,” the League reports. “When the girl and her classmates protested, they were berated by teachers.” • On April 19 in Lake Bluff, Illinois, “A middle school teacher gave an assignment to her students pinpointing who was responsible for the Holocaust and listed Pope Pius...

Hooking Up For Credit by: Deborah Lambert, February 22, 2008 When Family Security Matters released its 2nd annual tally of “America’s Most Dangerous College Courses,” reporter Jason Rantz noted that little has changed on college campuses. He said the fact that professors incorporate rants about George Bush, the war on terrorism and social justice into their class sessions means that students are being seriously short-changed. Among the courses on the 2007-2008 list is “College Sexualities,” offered by Occidental College, which studies the “hook up” culture of college students. “Offering not an iota of academic value,” Rantz says that “the course...

College Confidential by: Deborah Lambert, February 19, 2008 Remember the days when movies like “Love Story” recounted the joys of campus courtships? Things have changed, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Sue Shellenbarger, who says that today’s pragmatic students are more focused on grades and careers than on moonlight serenades. One survey found that nearly 20 percent of young marrieds or those in serious committed relationships were more likely to have met at the office than at school. This all makes sense. After all, since today’s competitive work environment requires post-graduate degrees and flexible re-location plans, it could take years...

Adult Academic Book Store by: Malcolm A. Kline, December 07, 2007 Our academic elites love to point out to the rest of us how unenlightened we are. Perhaps they can explain the scholarly value of some of the books rolling off of their own university presses, such as the trio of tomes reviewed by Camille Paglia in the September 21, 2007 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education: • Images of Bliss: Ejaculation, Masculinity, Meaning, by Murat Aydemir (University of Minnesota Press, 2007). • Impotence: A Cultural History, by Angus McLaren (University of Chicago Press, 2007). • Sperm Counts: Overcome...

A large Maryland county near Washington, DC, will soon decide whether to declare transgender people a "protected class" under law and become the latest in a growing list of jurisdictions nationally to ban discrimination on the basis of "gender identity and expression." The Montgomery County Council is scheduled to vote next Tuesday (November 13) on a bill that would add "gender identity" to the county's existing non-discrimination policy. The measure (Bill 23-07) is being pushed by the homosexual activist group Equality Maryland and by three Council members, including one who has a transgendered male staff member. Two conservatives groups --...

New Study Finds Christian Counseling Effectively Assists Leaving Homosexual Life-Style Study also finds leaving the lifestyle not psychologically harmful By Meg Jalsevac NASHVILLE, September 18, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study, entitled the Exodus Project and conducted by two psychologists, has determined that, through "religiously mediated means", it is possible for homosexual individuals to leave their old lifestyle and embrace the heterosexual lifestyle.  The study also determined that, contrary to mainstream scientific thought, the effort to change one's inclinations away from homosexuality does not appear to be psychologically problematic. In the words of the authors themselves, "The study is the...

by Dr. Peter Jones In 1974, when I left the States to teach in "godless" France, the cultural revolution was a Left coast/San Fran' phenom', and America was still "Christian." When I returned in 1991, I was in for culture shock, but still never imagined what lay ahead. One man warned us. In 1978, Pastor Charles Mcllhenny recorded his experiences after his church fired a homosexual organist (When the Wicked Seize a City). Church property was repeatedly vandalized and his family almost killed by a firebomb. "Law enforcement" never found the culprits. Mcllhenny used San Francisco as a striking example...

LifeSiteNews.com's Mission India: A Second Trip to India Filled with Blessings and Adventures Editor John-Henry Westen was invited to give several talks this year at the Divine Retreat Centre in Potta, India By John-Henry Westen POTTA, India, July 27, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - After the harrowing adventures related to last year's trip to India to speak at the Divine Retreat Centre's Power 2006 Youth Conference, the good Fathers who run the giant retreat centre asked me to once again address the annual Youth Conference and associated Couples Conference. Power 2007, was like its inaugural predecessor a huge success with thousands of...

The American Psychological Association has discovered that too early sexualization of children, particularly girls, is damaging. How about that? Because I have well-developed views on this subject, I almost didn't read the long article about it in the Health section of The Washington Post this week. But I'm glad I did because just when you think you're up to date on cultural decline, you are surprised. Here is reporter Stacy Weiner on the state of preteen fashion: "Ten-year-old girls can slide their low cut jeans over 'eye-candy' panties. French maid costumes, garter belt included, are available in preteen sizes. ....

A health teacher at Argyle Middle School in Silver Spring spoke to eighth-graders yesterday about sexual orientation. And so began a pilot program in Montgomery County schools that delves deeper into issues of sexual and gender identity than most other school systems in the Washington region, if not the nation. The field test, which will start in five other schools by the end of the month and -- barring legal intervention -- the rest of the county in fall, marks the first time Montgomery teachers have broached homosexuality as a part of the official lesson plan in eighth- and 10th-grade...

Yet church members slog on through the gay clergy debate because leaders can't seem to devise a solution that satisfies both sides.Ron Miller is a member of Druid Hills Presbyterian Church in Atlanta who says he would have "no problem at all" accepting a gay pastor. But the genial church elder says he'd rather focus on something else — and so should other churches. "A lot of time and energy is being spent by governing bodies and individual churches over this issue," Miller says. "That time could be devoted to the real mission of the church: helping the poor, the...

LAKE FOREST Potential presidential candidate Barack Obama stood before one of the country's largest evangelical churches Friday for a frank discussion of sexuality and spirituality that included the declaration that condoms should be made more widely available to fight AIDS. The Democratic senator's appearance at the Saddleback megachurch was a source of dispute among evangelical leaders, with some of the most conservative saying that a politician who supports abortion rights should not have been allowed to speak at such a prominent church. Obama urged unity despite political differences to fight the disease that has killed 25 million people since the...

Feminism has collided with "an unanticipated opponent: the inner woman." The book centers on the most stubborn aspects of the inner woman, the impulses and irrational passions that rise up and swamp us despite our efforts to stick to the designated feminist path. Kipnis wrestles with Dworkin's writings. "Dworkin didn't read the culture wrong: it's true that all the idioms for penetration: 'getting f__ked', 'screwed over' are about humiliation and exploitation. Which does make it hard to see how anyone can avoid a certain duality about it, even when it's pleasurable Kipnis reads a passage from Pearson's "I Don't Know...

THE Church is facing another onslaught from film-makers. After the furore over The Da Vinci Code, it is now contending with an allegedly blasphemous account of the life of St Teresa of Ávila. Geraldine Chaplin heads the cast of Teresa: Death and Life, a feature film about one of the great Christian figures. The writings of the saint — a mystic who said that Christ conversed with her — are revered as spiritual masterpieces four centuries after her death. But film-makers don’t do spirituality as easily as sexuality and, in exploring the saint’s sex life, they find themselves accused of...

Fact and feminism keep tripping over each other. For decades, radical feminists have prostrated themselves upon the altar of androgeny, flatly declaring that all differences between the sexes are socially constructed. So when men earn more money than women, they say that’s proof of sex discrimination. But men have the Y chromosome, while women don’t. And it turns out that one chromosome contains 78 very important genes. Those genes contain programming instructions that control a man’s brain structure, sex hormones, and a host of other functions. These critical genetic differences play out in thousands of ways that influence risk-taking, sex...

Just over a year ago, David Parker was arrested for trespassing onto school property. Parker, whose son was a kindergartner at the time, was on site to meet with the school’s principal and Lexington’s Director of Education to discuss his objections to the school teaching his child about homosexuality and transgender without his consent. In a statement made after his arrest, Parker explained the situation, “We have officially stated on many occasions—to the Lexington school administration—a request that we be notified when these discussions are planned, and want our 6-year-old opted out of such situations when arising ‘spontaneously.’” “Our parental...

The USCCB and the “Safe Environment” Programs: Safe isn’t Safe Anymore by Elizabeth Schwab   www.desertvoice.org   May 23, 2006 Those who grew up in the 50s and 60s may still remember their first elementary reader about the adventures of Dick and Jane. It was a simpler world back then, and Dick and Jane were as gay as could be. Gay. They were happy, carefree. Today a quite different meaning comes to mind. Amazing, isn’t it, how that one word has changed forever. Another word undergoing a similar transformation today is the word “safe.” Suddenly there is a push for safety in all forms...

Ladies, beware of dashing men. They could be dangerous. Young men who are good-looking and know it are more likely to engage in risky sex than guys who have a less positive body image, according to a new study from researchers at Pennsylvania State University. However, sexually active young women who are happy with their looks are less likely to undertake those same risks, which include having sex without condoms and sex with multiple partners. The study: Led by Dr. Eva S. Lefkowitz, associate professor of human development and family studies, and graduate student Meghan M. Gillen, the Penn State...

(PRWEB) - Boston, MA (PRWEB) March 21, 2006 -- The author of a newly published book on sexual ethics has gone beyond criticizing the “puritanical moralists” of the religious right. He wants to challenge them to face-to-face debates on college campuses and radio programs. ADVERTISEMENT Desmond Ravenstone wrote “The Principled Libertine: Erotic Ethics for Everyone” (published by Lulu Press) as a response to the viewpoint of social conservatives who want to promote a “traditional” morality on sexual matters. “When I read their writings or hear one of them speak,” Ravenstone says, “it doesn’t sound at all like an ethical discourse....

ABC News Sexless and Proud Asexuals Say They're Misunderstood in a Sex-Obsessed World March 23, 2006 — - David Jay has had plenty of girlfriends. But despite the 23-year-old Californian's success in dating, he's a virgin -- and he plans to stay that way. He's not joining the priesthood or taking any vow of celibacy; he said he simply has no interest in having sex -- ever. "I'm sure that life is really, really great when it's all about sex. But life is also really, really great when it's not about sex," he told "20/20's" JuJu Chang. Keith Walker of...

The pornography that once characterized Times Square in Manhattan and 14th Street, NW, in Washington, D. C. has virtually disappeared from those neighborhoods and moved to college campuses, sometimes literally.