Current Events Archives

The Trump Administration Is Right. Taxpayer Funds Should Not Support Abortion.

We applaud today’s action by the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in keeping this Administration’s pledge to American taxpayers that no funds would go directly, or indirectly, to support abortion.

HHS’s announcement that it will be bringing back a Reagan-era regulation dealing with family planning funds and abortion responds to the cry of millions of Americans who want their government to support life, not death. Six in ten Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, policy, pro-life May 18, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Veterans Teach Vandals a Valuable Lesson

When’s the last time you read a news story with a happy ending?

After all, as a general rule of thumb, it’s the noise that makes news.

It’s human nature.

Maybe it’s because bad news makes us feel better about ourselves. Our lives could be worse – just look at that sad and sordid story.

But then there’s Heard County High School in Franklin, Georgia, population 993.

In a nod to tradition, seniors in the high school there regularly try and pull off a prank this time of year.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, news, pop culture May 16, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Focus on the Family Best Seller List

Week ending May 8, 2018

The Marriage Builder (by Larry Crabb)
The Language of Love (by Gary Smalley & John Trent)
A Lifelong Love (by Gary Thomas)
All the Places to Go . . . How Will You Know? (by John Ortberg)
Fully Alive (by Larry Crabb)
Fire Road (by Kim Phuc Thi)
The Focus on the Family Guide to Talking with Your Kids about Sex (by J. Thomas Fitch)
Kingdom Marriage (by Tony Evans)
The Power of Prayer and Fasting (by Ronnie Floyd)
Courage for Life (by Ann White)
Sacred Marriage (by Gary L.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, family, marriage, parenting, relationships May 14, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Should Christians Respond to Domestic Abuse?

Of the many calls, emails and letters we receive at Focus on the Family, those involving the tragic subject of spousal abuse are among the most heart-wrenching. They’re also inquiries that demand an unequivocal response with no room for misinterpretation.

I raise this issue today in light of the current controversy involving Southwestern Seminary President Dr. Paige Patterson. The former head of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Patterson has been rightly credited with helping lead a conservative theological revolution within the denomination at a time when progressives were attempting to liberalize the understanding of Scripture.

Topics: Current Events/ Family and Home Tags: Domestic abuse, paige patterson, southern baptist convention May 8, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Emasculation of the Boy Scouts Continues

Yesterday’s announcement that the Boy Scouts of America will drop “Boy” from the name of its signature program is yet another sad development for the once storied and celebrated organization.

You’ll recall that the Boy Scouts announced in 2013 that they would be allowing openly homosexual scouts to join local troops. In 2015, they began accepting openly homosexual leaders. Since these changes, scout membership has dropped approximately ten percent. Many churches have decided to cancel sponsorship of troops.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, kids, policy, pop culture May 3, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Your Help is Needed to Protect Faith-Based Adoption Agencies

Are faith-based adoption agencies – those that believe foster children and newborns fare best when placed in a home with a mom and a dad – threatened with extinction?

The outlook is ominous.

But first, let’s establish some facts. At any given time, there are more than 100,000 foster children available for adoption in the United States, meaning that there are always many more children waiting for their forever home than there ought to be. I am personally aware of what it means to be one of those waiting children, since that was me at one point in my own childhood.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, kids, policy, religious liberty May 2, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

From “Napalm Girl” to “Child of God”

Today is the 43rd anniversary of the fall of Saigon in 1975.

Stories from the Vietnam war have been told for decades, from the soldiers who fought it to the victims caught in the crossfire. Few of those stories are as inspirational as that of Kim Phuc Phan Thi.

You remember her as “the napalm girl,” the central figure in the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning photo “The Terror of War.” The photo portrays a young girl running naked down the road, her skin on fire from a napalm attack.

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, faith, news April 30, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

GQ Just Called You a Fool

According to Jesse Ball, a writer in the latest issue of GQ Magazine, the Bible is an overrated and boring book. In fact, the 39-year-old novelist and poet went on to characterize the Old and New Testaments as “foolish,” “repetitive” and “self-contradictory,” among other things.

Understandably, Jesse Ball’s assertions have stirred up significant controversy. But this isn’t the first time that the Chicago-based writer has made curious, perplexing and outlandish pronouncements. For example, just last year he suggested that every American should be put in a maximum security prison once every ten years – for up to ninety days at a time.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, pop culture April 25, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Senators Mitch McConnell and James Lankford on Faith, Family, and Leadership

Several weeks ago, I had the privilege of being in Washington, D.C., to talk with media and government leaders about the importance of the family in the culture.

Two of my meetings were with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from Kentucky and Senator James Lankford from Oklahoma. They both shared perspectives about faith and family that I believe Focus on the Family’s listeners will want to hear. We’re airing those conversations on our broadcast “Protecting Life and Family Values in the Senate.”

Our discussions weren’t specifically political, but, still, that is the Senators’ sphere of influence.

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, faith, family, policy April 19, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Jim Daly Statement on the Passing of Barbara Bush

The death today of former first lady Barbara Bush, the wife of the 41st president, George H.W. Bush and the mother of the 43rd, President George W. Bush, marks the earthly conclusion of a remarkable and well-lived life. She was 92.

Lovingly nicknamed the “Silver Fox” by her adoring husband, Barbara was married to George for 73 years, a record for a presidential couple. As a wife, her commitment was unprecedented and as a mother to six, her love was unconditional.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, family, news April 17, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura