Pornography: The New Normal

I was fascinated by the reactions last week to the British government's intention of making British customers positively "opt in" to allowing pornography to be part of their internet package.  The idea is ostensibly to protect children from seeing images which may prove harmful.

I read three responses: one an article on the BBC website; and two in my weekly fix, The Spectator.   The first was simply one of those 'I watch porn; I don't like the violent stuff; but hey, the things I watch are harmless recreation' pieces.  The two in The Spectator were, as one might expect, somewhat more sophisticated and, indeed, from the pens of two of my favourite journalists, Rod Liddle and James Delingpole.  

Liddle's argument was that the Tories' policy was more to do with appeasing their coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats; Delingpole's was really about the government overreaching itself in its policing of private behavior, but he did this via the slightly unexpected means of arguing that porn consumption was not simply a male monopoly but was enjoyed also by a large number of women.  Continue at Carl Truman

Why Online Pornography is Being Blocked in the UK—and Why It Should Be in the U.S. Too

The Story: Most households in the UK will have pornography blocked by their internet provider unless they choose to receive it, the prime minister has announced.

The Background: According to the BBC, Prime Minister Cameron warned in a speech that access to online pornography is "corroding childhood." The new measures will apply to both existing and new customers. Cameron also called for some "horrific" internet search terms to be "blacklisted," meaning they would automatically bring up no results on websites such as Google or Bing.

He told the BBC he expected a "row" with service providers who, he said in his speech, were "not doing enough to take responsibility" despite having a "moral duty" to do so. He warned he could have to "force action" by changing the law and that, if there were "technical obstacles," firms should use their "greatest brains" to overcome them.

Why It Matters: Imagine that as part of their mail delivery service, the USPS delivered to your mailbox an unlimited supply of free drugs, ranging from oxycodone to heroin. You could take the drugs out or leave them untouched, but they would always be there for you or any other member of your family. While you can't opt out of the service, people who don't want access to the drugs could attach a lock that prevents them and their family from picking up the narcotics when they collect their electric bill and postcards. But the postal service would always ensure that, without the postal customer taking preventive measures, the drugs were always ready and waiting for them.   Continue at Joe Carter

USA Will Become Like the UK—The Battle for Culture

The battle for the culture in the UK (United Kingdom) continues to be lost from a Christian perspective! A recent article reported that Prime Minister David Cameron came out in support of same-sex couples being able to marry in UK churches (UK registrars currently cannot legally officiate same-sex marriage ceremonies), and a bill to that effect will be voted on in 2013. (Read the full report at this link.) You see, the UK has been in a downward spiral for years as far as the church and biblical authority are concerned. I’ve given these statistics many times before—church attendance in the UK is very low (from around 60% generations ago to 6.3% according to a recent report in the Telegraph).

Well, David Cameron’s view on gay “marriage” is being considered a historic moment, because “it means that all three party leaders now support a historic equality reform.” And sadly, Cameron is violating the views of half his party by taking such a stance on such “marriages” in churches—all because “he believes the public are relaxed about the idea.” Since a majority of the people seems to be in favor of gay “marriage” in churches, Cameron wants to support it.

Now, in my book The Lie: Evolution/Millions of Years, I wrote a section explaining why we cannot base our morality on man’s opinion. I’ve included it here because I believe it addresses the major problems with what is happening in the UK (and is happening here in the USA also):   Continue at Ken Ham

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Romanticism’s Revenge: The Pope Makes a Visit to the United Kingdom

Judging by recent news reports, Pope Benedict XVI like so many pontiffs before him suffers from the malady often passed down from one bishop of Rome to the next: he is a consummate Anglophile. Like Paul in anguish for his people, one could say that the Roman pontiff has “great sorrow and unceasing anguish in his heart” for British Protestants. Today, he begins his four day trip to the United Kingdom, extending in the process an implicit call for the British to return to the Roman Church. Though short, his visit to her Majesty’s realm resonates with a subtle but powerful message: the vision of the via media, the “middle way” often invoked by the clergy and laity of the Church of England, can only be found in the Church of Rome.
The Pope’s four day excursion in bonnie Scotland and merry England is not a courtesy call: there is serious business afoot. There will be many meetings and even a joint prayer service together with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in Westminster Abbey. But the primary reason for Benedict’s appearance is the beatification of the Church of England’s most famous defector: John Henry Newman. It behooves us as careful observers of current events to consider the content of the life and character of this man to understand the message of the Pope’s visit. Continue reading>>>

See also Papal Protest