The effects of same-sex civil marriage in Canada—restrictions on free speech rights, parental rights in education, and autonomy rights of religious institutions, along with a weakening of the marriage culture—provide lessons for the United States. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/11/6758/?utm_source=RTA+Miller+SSM+in+Canada&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more

In the civil war, they have tried to stay neutral. But despite this, many are now facing persecution and death. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-plight-of-syrias-christians-we-left-homs-because-they-were-trying-to-kill-us-8274710.html Read more

Is there really “something highly contradictory,” as Kathryn Shelton argued here on Doublethink, about a position that “advocates the regulation of marriage, but rallies behind a platform for smaller government”? Or, on the contrary, is the promotion of marriage critical to limited government, as traditionalist conservatives—among others—regularly contend? http://americasfuture.org/doublethink/2012/11/big-government-should-not-redefine-marriage/?utm_source=RTA+Nov+1+Marriage&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more

Ever since the rise of the progressive movement, the American Left has championed political reforms to create direct democracy: ballot initiatives, popular referenda, direct election of senators, and recall initiatives. But now, apparently, there are exceptions. They favor direct democracy . . . except when they don’t like the result. Then they turn to rule by enlightened overseers. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/332239/marriage-and-inew-york-timesi-fear-democracy-ryan-t-anderson?utm_source=RTA+Nov+1+Marriage&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more

Rabbi Barry Kornblau In the Garden of Eden, one tree tantalized Adam and Eve with its promise of eternal life while a second tempted them to become like God, knowing good and evil. Trees symbolize and embody eternity and wisdom, prompting the wisest of men to remind us (Prov. 3:18) that the Torah’s eternal wisdom is “a tree of life to those who hold fast to it.” http://torahmusings.com/2012/10/eulogy-for-a-tree/ Read more

Bedouin politician Aatef Karinaoui launches a Knesset bid, slamming Arab MKs and calling for an ‘Arab Spring’ to provide a fresh direction for his community http://www.timesofisrael.com/a-would-be-new-leader-of-israels-arabs-urges-full-integration-with-israel/ Read more

Ryan Anderson Back in March 2007, I suggested in a First Things On The Square article that “Bono Still Hasn’t Found What He’s Looking For.” Critical of the approach the U2 rocker took to developmental aid, I argued: http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2012/10/30/capitalism-and-entrepreneurship-has-bono-finally-found-what-hes-looking-for/?utm_source=RTA+Franck+Regnerus+2&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more

Matthew Franck Mark Regnerus’s response to his critics shows more clearly that instability is characteristic of same-sex relationships and that stable same-sex parented households are virtually non-existent. Second of a two-part series. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/10/6786/?utm_source=RTA+Franck+Regnerus+2&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more

Attacks on sociologist Mark Regnerus after he challenged the “no differences” thesis haven’t obscured the high quality of the New Family Structures Study or its troubling findings. The first of a two-part series. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/10/6784/?utm_source=RTA+Franck+Regnerus+1&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more

Distinguished philosopher Thomas Nagel rejects both evolutionary materialism and theism as adequate accounts of the origin and nature of human life, proposing instead a naturalistic “nonpurposive teleology.” But naturalistic teleology, just like existence itself, calls for a cause that transcends the created order. http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/10/6715/?utm_source=RTA+Carroll+Darwin+God&utm_campaign=winstorg&utm_medium=email Read more