NEW YORK – The American Bible Society released on Tuesday its annual State of the Bible report, which revealed that a majority of Americans feel the morals and values of the country are declining. And the most cited reason for this decline, according to the report, is a lack of Bible reading.

The Christian Post had the opportunity to sit down with Doug Birdsall, the new president and Chief Executive Officer of ABS, in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that took a closer look at the State of the Bible report and the international experience Birdsall brings to the table.

"As the new president who has only been here for a few weeks, I am energized by what I see in the State of the Bible report that we have done together with Barna Research. I'm also excited and somewhat sobered by the challenges that we face," Birdsall commented. more >>

I was recently confronted with what some believe is a shift in public opinion on the issue of traditional marriage. The 75 Republican operatives who signed on to a Supreme Court brief calling for a federal ban on state traditional marriage laws were used as the latest example. It is difficult enough to stand against advocates on the Left but it is downright painful to have to stand up to people you thought were on your side. In some cases, it feels like a betrayal.

Why am I surprised? Because the marriage issue does not break down neatly along party lines; this is not a Republican or Democrat issue. For instance, according to Associated Press exit polls in 2008, 70 percent of African-Americans who voted for Barack Obama as president in California also voted for Proposition 8, the state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman. More than half of Hispanics, a group much coveted by both parties, also came down firmly on the side of traditional marriage.

The marriage issue is one of the most difficult issues to address for most people, including Concerned Women for America (CWA). It is emotional and deeply personal. It is much easier to advocate for issues like victims of sex trafficking, the sanctity of life, and the protection of victims of rape, fiscal restraint, or education. I personally find them much more rewarding. But CWA has always stood for truth, no matter who it offends, and we will continue to do so for marriage, no matter what happens at the Supreme Court. Same-sex marriage is not our only concern on the issue of marriage. High rates of divorce, unwed childbearing, and cohabitation are just a few issues devastating American families and children. We should rebuild and restore marriage, not redefine it. If we redefine marriage, then where will it end? We have already seen Hollywood embrace the idea of polygamy, a la Sister Wives. And abroad in Brazil, trio same-sex unions are legally recognized. more >>

We've studied theology for quite a long time. Even though we're not from the Catholic tradition, we understand the difference between venial and mortal sins. But apparently, Protestants have their own gradation of depravity now. In a recent interview with NPR, President of Focus on the Family, Jim Daly, suggested that Evangelicals have wrongfully labeled homosexuality as a "Super Sin." But his fatherly chastisement opens up the discussion as to what could be included in this particular category.

Are these the sins that take place in a super market? Or perhaps people wearing body-suit tights and a cape can only commit them. Then again, Super-sins might only occur when you increase the size of your fries at McDonald's. It's really hard to say. But one thing we know for certain from Jim Daly…homosexuality can't be a Super Sin.

No, homosexuality is just like any other regular sin. If you go over the speed limit, you're a law-breaker, and therefore, you're in sin. If you throw litter from your car, that too is a regular sin. Cheat on your taxes? Sin. Download music from a friend's iPod? Sin. more >>

WASHINGTON – As the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on two cases pertaining to the definition of marriage this week, thousands from both sides demonstrated and marched at the National Mall and outside the Supreme Court building on Tuesday.

March for Marriage, an event that began at the National Mall on Tuesday morning, was sponsored by several groups that support defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. The event featured numerous speakers, Contemporary Christian Music, and hundreds, if not thousands, of people from many parts of the country.

Dr. Jim Garlow, senior pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church of San Diego, Calif., and a speaker at the March, told The Christian Post that he felt the event "helps people to see that there are people of decency, people of goodness, of biblical truth that are willing to stand up and resist the onslaught that would attack the family and attack the institution of marriage." more >>

The feminists have ratcheted up the laws against men to such an outrageous level that paternity fraud is not just ignored, but routinely rubber stamped by the courts. Whether one agrees with the concept of child support or not, virtually everyone can agree that jailing men for child support over children who are not theirs is morally wrong. Men are routinely sent to jail for falling behind on paying child support, even though debtors' prisons in the U.S. were mostly eliminated in the mid-nineteenth century.

The family courts and laws are set up in such a way that makes it very easy for a mother to collect child support, and very difficult for a man to avoid it. If a couple was married, the default law is that the man will be required to pay child support for any child born while they were married. In order for a man who isn't the father to escape this outcome, he must obtain a paternity test and take a series of legal steps in court. Most states only allow a short window of time for a man to do this. If a man is not aware of the child, which he may not be if his wife or former wife doesn't notify him of the child right away, he loses all chance to fight the child support, and will be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars for the next 18 years until the child becomes an adult.

Courts routinely order these judgments even if the man is unaware what is going on. A March 2003 Urban Institute study commissioned by the California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) found that "most noncustodial parents appear to be served by 'substitute' service, rather than personal service, which suggests that noncustodial parents may not know that they have been served." more >>

Boy Scouts leaders and parents are announcing the launch of a national coalition on Saturday to keep openly gay individuals out of the organization even as the Boy Scouts of America is scheduled to decide in May whether or not to allow open homosexuality.

Parents, Scoutmasters, Eagle Scouts and other Scouting leaders from across the country, who are supportive of the BSA's no openly gay membership policy, will announce the launch of a national organization and a coalition of concerned BSA members in Orlando, Fla.

Saturday's press event on the sidewalk areas outside of the Bob Carr Auditorium will immediately follow the Central Florida Council's Town Hall Meeting in Orlando, which will be attended by BSA CEO Wayne Brock and National Commissioner Tico Perez. more >>