Marco Rubio, the Republican junior U.S. Senator from Florida, recently spoke on what he believes to be the breakdown of the American family and its direct consequence on the country's economy.

"I think morality ultimately is the function of the church and our faith, not government, but certainly government cannot be immune from morality, nor can our society because the breakdown in morality is having a direct economic consequence on our country," Rubio said in a Wednesday interview with Christian Broadcasting Network's "The Brody File."

"The breakdown of the American family is one of the leading causes of poverty. The breakdown in the American family is one of the leading causes of these instances of violence that we're seeing. The breakdown of the American family is one of the leading causes of educational underperformance," Rubio continued. more >>

The nation's problems cannot be solved by more government spending, Republicans complained in response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) delivered the Republican response and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) delivered the Tea Party response Tuesday night.

Both Paul and Rubio argued that it is liberty that makes the United States an exceptional nation and warned that the current direction of government policy threatens that exceptionalism.

America was founded upon a belief that people are not trapped in the socioeconomic class they are born into, Rubio explained. "America is exceptional because we believe that every life, at every stage, is precious, and that everyone everywhere has a God-given right to go as far as their talents and hard work will take them." more >>

An interfaith atheist activist has claimed that the modern atheist movement in the United States and Europe lacks concern for the poor. Walker Bristol, a blogger for The Huffington Post, wrote an essay posted on Saturday arguing that the "new atheism" of the 21st century has been rightly stereotyped as "elitist" and "self-satisfied."

"The atheist movement, in composition and purpose, has in the last decade failed to demonstrate a meaningful dedication to fighting economic inequality and building a safe space for nontheists regardless of their socioeconomic class," wrote Bristol.

"Despite all their talk of building a better world and upholding diversity, contemporary atheism and humanism's most prominent authors and leaders have been suspiciously silent on the topic of poverty." more >>

NEW YORK – New York City stands as one of the richest and most glamorous metropolitans in the world, but it is also a city where people walk by tens of thousands of homeless people each night without offering or even knowing how to offer a helping hand. A joint campaign by some of the city's top charity organizations, stretching throughout the month of February, is seeking to address that problem, and offer new hope to the many hurting and needy people.

"'Don't Walk By' changed my life," said Katrina Monta, Executive Assistant to the President at New York City Relief, one of the participating groups, at the Feb. 2 outreach event in Downtown Manhattan, attended by The Christian Post. Monta was a volunteer at "Don't Walk By" back in 2010, and through that she ended up coordinating the event for The Bowery Mission in 2011, eventually leading to her involvement with New York City Relief.

"It was an eye opening experience because I got to do everything that Jesus was asking me to do as a Christian, which is kind of stoop down and learn how to love the outcast and live out my faith together as the Church. As a New Yorker, you are confronted with it every day – riding the trains, walking down the streets – and a lot of people don't know how to deal with that – it's an internal conflict," the executive assistant explained of the homeless problem in the city. more >>

Bethany Christian Services Co-founder Marguerite Bonnema recently passed away a few days shy of her 100th birthday.

"While I am saddened by Marguerite's passing, I rejoice that she is with the Lord," said Bill Blacquiere, Bethany's president and CEO. "As a result of her vision and courage, Bethany has touched the lives of many thousands of children and families since its founding. In her memory, we will continue our commitment to find loving families for children in crisis."

In 1944, Bonnema and friend Mary DeBoer began to take in abandoned babies who needed shelter in their apartment in Grand Rapids, Mich. Within a few years, the friends were able to purchase land with help from a local church and obtain a license to start Bethany Christian Home. This was the start of a 70 year initiative to combat the global orphan crisis. more >>

WASHINGTON – Government programs that take away poor people's incentive to earn their own success are immoral, because earned success is the key to happiness, Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, argued recently in an interview on "The Morality of the Market," at the National Review Institute's 2013 Summit, "The Future of Conservatism."

Brooks has a master's degree in economics and a Ph.D. in policy analysis and has conducted research and written books on happiness. He found that the happiest people have at least two or three of the following: faith, family, community, and work that is satisfying and vocational.

The key to their happiness, though, is earned success, he said. Success does not have to be financial success; there are those with high levels of income and low levels of income who are equally happy because they feel that they have earned their success as they define success for themselves. more >>