Virginia

Hanging out, goofing off, and avoiding responsibility may be what teens do best – at least, that's the kind of behavior that is usually expected of young people.

And it's those very low expectations that have left many teens today idle, immature and unprepared for what God has planned for them, says two young brothers.

"Our culture tells us it doesn't matter how you spend the teen years; this is a time to have fun," Brett Harris, 20, said in a recent interview with Focus on the Family. "We've been culturally conditioned to give up when things feel hard and to miss out on the glorious purpose that God has for the teen years because we've been trained to believe what is false." more >>

Family and friends are gathering at Heritage Baptist Church in Lynchburg on Monday to mourn the deaths of two "godly" Virginia Tech students.

David Lee Metzler, 19, and Heidi Lynn Childs, 18, were found shot Thursday morning in the parking lot of a campground located about 15 miles from the Blacksburg campus.

Investigators said on Friday that the murders appear to be a random act of violence, as reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. more >>

Lesbian-turned-Christian Lisa Miller does not need to go to jail nor pay fines for failing to deliver her seven-year-old daughter to her former girlfriend in Vermont for visitation, a Virginia judge ruled on Tuesday.

On behalf of Janet Jenkins, Miller’s former lesbian partner, the ACLU of Virginia had asked the state’s court to order the defendant to jail and pay attorney fees and costs.

But the judge ruled that although Miller violated a Vermont judge’s visitation order, no fines would be assessed against her. The court ordered Miller to pay $100 per day for pending visitation orders issued in Vermont, but there are none at this time. more >>

A federal appeals court upheld Virginia's ban on partial-birth abortion, reversing an earlier ruling that had declared it unconstitutional.

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson of the 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals wrote in his opinion, "The fact is that we – civilized people – are retreating to the haven of our Constitution to justify dismembering a partly born child and crushing its skull. Surely centuries hence, people will look back on this gruesome practice done in the name of fundamental law by a society of high achievement. And they will shudder.”

"A partially born child is among the weakest, most helpless beings in our midst and on that account exerts a special claim on our protection," Wilkinson added. more >>

Ben Stein, who has frequently spoken against Darwinism, has been selected as the commencement speaker at Liberty University.

Stein, widely known for lead role in the film "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off," has had a wide-ranging career from politics to acting. He was a speechwriter and lawyer for both Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, a political commentator, a professor on topics spanning from constitutional rights to libel law and a former host of his Comedy Central show "Win Ben Stein’s Money."

Despite Stein's various experiences, LU Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. said the most compelling reason for the university's selection of Stein was his "work in exposing the evils and dangers of Darwinism through the documentary 'Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.'" more >>

The Virginian governor has signed legislation requiring local schools to teach the benefits and value of marriage as part of the state Board of Education's Family Life Education program.

Gov. Tim Kaine on Tuesday signed into law SB 827 and HB 1746, which broadens the range of topics covered by the family life education curriculum in grades K through 12 to include instruction on "the benefits, challenges, responsibilities, and value of marriage for men, women, children, and communities."

The legislation was introduced by Senator Ralph Smith (R-22, Botetourt) and Delegate Brenda Pogge (R-96, Yorktown) based on the recommendation of The Family Foundation’s 2007-2008 Marriage Commission. The commission found that current requirements for the FLE program asked students to describe difficult family situations including financial problems, separation or divorce, injury or death, the loss of job and the birth of a baby. more >>