Archive for Culture
July 16, 2008 at 3:51 pm
· Filed under Culture, Family, News, Youth ·Tagged abstinence, British teens, london, oral sex, sex education, teen pregnancy, UK
Heard about this absurdity - British government has urged school kids to try oral sex in order to cut teen pregnancies! Have they gone crazy or what? Do they think it is a novel idea and a creative means to contain a moral dilemma. Read more here. SIFY, Daily Mail, Sun
This advice is a part of Ten Commandments for young people released by chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson. He has suggested that teens should limit their sexual contact to touching, fondling and pleasuring each other. Crazy idea indeed. How can anyone stop at that point, without going all the way!
Over 3,000 girls under 16 gave birth in England and Wales in 2006 and 4,700 had an abortion. Under 14 abortions soard 20% last year. The abortion rate was highest for 19-year-olds at 36 per 1,000 girls. Terminations using a pill rather than surgery made up 35 per cent of the total in 2007, compared with 30 per cent in 2006.
This ‘stop-short’ approach is pushing the boundaries and deepening sexual promiscuity among teens. This will not only contain teen pregnancies but cause explosive growth in coming years. It is sure to backfire as many other morally liberal sex-ed stratagies have done before.
In few weeks, I am headed to London to speak at a youth conference there and wanted to see what is going on among youth these days. This was the first news that came across. Disturbing indeed. Would love to hear your comments.
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April 9, 2008 at 3:08 pm
· Filed under Culture, Family, India, News, Youth, health ·Tagged addiction, smoking, urban India, women
Urban Indian women are leaving a new trail - smoke. Women are catching up fast and narrowing the gap across gender lines in the domain of smoking or chewing tobacco. See a report in India Today. It is based on a World Health Organization’s global survey of tobacco usage.
Here are some disturbing finding:
31% women tobacco addicts in India are between age 15-49.
25% Indian women light up over 10 cigarettes per day.
62% of women smokers die in their prime compared to 38% of those who don’t.
1 in 20 women in India to die between age 30-69 due to tobacco in 2010s.
20% girls in Delhi and Chennai studying in Class 6 smoke (AIIMS study)
87% Hindi movies show onscreen smoking; 26% have a heroine who smokes.
In spite of the labeling that ’smoking is injurious to health’, tobacco companies continue to market new and imprved version to younger generations. Targeting women and young kids is a great marketing strategy, but why we don’t learn the damage it has caused to men and older generations. Why are bent on repeating mistakes all over again. Interesting that now they have a pink cigarette too!
Social stigma is out and new trendy fashion statement is drawing scores of women to this addictive habit. “Me too” attitude among women and want to stand on equal footing with man prevails among modern urban Indian women. Smoking becomes a way of keeping up with men. They will not let gender disparity happen in tobacco consumption as well. How foolish!
Some blame the media for promoting it, while other find government regulation insufficient. Bollywood now portrays many women smokers. Magazines continue to circumvent the advertisement ban on tobacco products. Sporting events continues to carry billboard of cigarette makers. Industry is promoting smoking as a cultural icon of sophistication, glamour and sexual allure and there is a large middle class women falling prey to it.
Check out here for resource to help youth quit smoking: Anti-smoking, Teen health.
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April 7, 2008 at 2:57 am
· Filed under Culture, Family, News, United States, Youth, church ·Tagged barna, christian, divorce, marraige
Barna Group has come out with a new survey report about marriage and divorce in America. See the entire report here. News report based on the study can also be seen at Baptist Press, Marriage Partnership etc.
Here are some of the key findings: a) Christians are more likely to get married than other faith groups. While 76% of Americans get married, 84% of Christians tend to tie the knot, 74% among non-Christian faiths and 65% among atheists and agnostics. b) Lowest likelihood of divorce are Catholics (28%), evangelicals (26%), Asians (20%) and those who deem themselves to be conservative on social and political matters (28%). c) Highest likelihood of divorce downscale adults (39%), Baby Boomers (38%), those aligned with a non-Christian faith (38%), African-Americans (36%), and people who consider themselves to be liberal on social and political matters (37%).
Some important inferences based on this latest statastics is that half of all marriage ending divorce is not true! See a report in Christianity Today publication Marraige Partnership called Don’t believe in divorce stats. Another important finding is that though low, Asian divorces have risen significantly. Couple of years ago, I remember reading some study that reported divorce rate between 12 and 15 percent. Now it is one in five.
There is no more stigma with divorce in the American community. Some will marvel that as maturity of people’s attitude, while others will see that as erosion of communal ethics and liberalization of views concerning marriage. There is no doubt that marriage culture is eroding fast in the West and the rest of the world is also catching up fast in this area. I guess it is the progress paradox!
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March 31, 2008 at 10:41 pm
· Filed under Culture, Family, United States, health ·Tagged CDC, Culture, illegitimate children, moral crisis, out-of-wedlock birth, pregnancy, unmarried births
In 1960, 5 percent of all pregnancies occured to unmarried mothers. By 1999, percentage rose to 33. One in every three children born in America is born to unwed mother. In 1970 it was 10.7 percent and 1980, 18.4 percent and 1990, it was 28 percent. Latest CDC stat on birth to unmarried women stands at 36.9 percent, ie 1,527,034.
Contrary to conventional notion that most illegitimate children are not being born to teen mothers. Over the past four decades age of unmarried mother giving birth has risen from teen girls to twenties and now in thirties. Also it moved beyond black poor girls to well-to-do white and other migrant groups. See detailed stat by race from 1970 thro 2004 on unmarried childbirths in US.
Birth control revolution that was supposed to prevent unwanted pregnancies and allow peopple freely engage in sex without any fear. Inceasingly sex-driven popular culture and anti-marriage sentiment prevalent in America today has taken any stigma out of free format sexual activity. Growing promiscuity, Cohabitation etc are only making this problem worse. But all of it is not without any consequence as many would like to believe.
The term illegitimate children are no more in use and is considered oppressive. Out of wedlock childbirth is the more trendy usage these days. No matter how well we sugarcoat such bitter social experimentation or legislate new policies by the government, this moral crisis cannot be easily resolved. Personal sexual ethics have a larger social, cultural and political consequences. Unless we address the core moral crisis in America, nothing else we do will matter much!
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March 25, 2008 at 9:05 pm
· Filed under Culture, Family, News, Youth, health ·Tagged eating, Family, habits, health, teen
Did you have your breakfast today? About 25% of teens in US skips breakfast. Kids in your home or kids under your care in church or school, may be picking up some bad eating habits - not eating breakfast!
A study of teen health, lifestyles and eating habits done by University of Minneapolis is out. Teenagers who regularly eat breakfast tend to weigh less, exercise more and eat a more healthful diet than their breakfast-skipping peers. Eating breakfasts is a healthy habit. Leaving tummy empty for prolonged duration is harmful. Nothing very surprising, I guess!
Breakast is the most important meals of the day. Filling up bellies in the morning may control their appetite better throughout the day. It might also prevent food binges at lunch or dinner. It might also cut down junk food consumption. Staying up late or morning rush often leaves us with little time for breakfast. Whether it be school or college or work, we find ourselves rushing out of the door without morning meal.
If you tend skip breakfast, it is time to fix that lifestyle. Get into a habit of regularly eating your breakfast, even if it is something small or on the run. Something is better than nothing. Family that eats together stays healhy. Such teens have less eating disorders!
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March 24, 2008 at 1:38 pm
· Filed under Culture, Family, Leadership, church ·Tagged Abortion, african american, black, pro-life
I came across this disturbing report - since abortion became legal in America in 1973, life was snuffed out of more than 15 million black babies! Also in this community is one of the largest out-of-wedlock births in the country. All this statastics proves ramphant sexual activity before and outside of marriage, a low view of life and poverty ridden ethos to get rid of babies, instead of valuing and nurturing new borns.
This is in the scale of genocides that are going on many part of the world. Systematic eradication of black babies from the world. Some might argue, it is better off to abort than grow up under neglect, without father and in poverty, only to end up pushing drugs and joing gangs. Pragmatic as that solution may look like, a society that does not defend its most vulnerable is destined toward self destruction.
Last month was Black history month and abortion among the African American community is a tragic reality. Sadly most conversation I hear during this season is on schooling, economic advancement, state support, ‘I-have-a-dream speech’, great black preachers etc. Wonderful as they are, I see many overlooking moral and family issues. Only few social or political organizations dare to challenge moral vaccum, fatherlessness, abortions, sexual promiscuity etc.
See National Black Pro-life Union for what is being done among black communities to get the pro-life message across. I wish more social and religious organization will speak up for the innocent victims and abstinence based view of sexuality will make more inroads in this community.
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March 19, 2008 at 2:40 pm
· Filed under Bible, Culture, Family, Leadership, News, Youth, church ·Tagged Abortion, Canada, liberalism, low-marriage, Quebec
I was recently searching for some pro-family organizations in north of the border and came across some really distrubing trends among French-Candiaans. Of all the Canadian provinces, Quebec has the lowest marriage rate. It also has the lowest birth rate—the province is literally dying out. Quebec’s abortion rate is higher than all other Canadian provinces! Quebec leads the other provinces in divorce and suicide rates as well. See reports in Montreal Mirror, Maclean’s, Christian News, New York Times etc.
Montreal has become a notorious haven for pedophiles. Abortion rate is right up there with impoverished developing countries. The 2002 abortion rate was 42.6 abortions per 100 births—over four times that of Holland, over twice that of France and well ahead of the rest of Canada and the States.
Some calls this the Quiet Revolution of declining marriage rate, growing cohabitation,mouonting divorce and rising abortion rates is changing the face of the province. It is not simply quiet or silent, but a clearn sign of end of civilization or should I say the province. It has not only moral and legal implications, but is sure to affect demographic, economic and immigrations policies in the state.
Once a traditional Catholic society that maintained high moral and ethical standards in the communities. It had lower marriage age, cohab was unheard off, sex was permitted strictly within marriage. As the liberal culture makes inroads and brushes aside what held the society together and helped to prosper, is self destructing itself. Also a clear warning to other nations.
Read an excellent article in First Things by John Neuhans. Another good read would be ”What happened to Christian Canada?” by Mark Knoll. I generally enjoy Mark’s insights and hope to get my hands on understanding Canadian Christianity. If any of you read this, please give your inputs on what is causing this cultural shift in Canada?
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March 12, 2008 at 2:36 pm
· Filed under Culture, Family, News, Resources, Youth, health ·Tagged CDC, sex education, STD, teen girls
A shocking health report came out on US teenage girls from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). More than one fourth of them have some form of sexually transmitted disease! An estimated 3.2 million U.S. girls between the ages 14 and 19 (about 26 percent of that age group) have a sexually transmitted infection such as the human papillomavirus or HPV, chlamydia, genital herpes or trichomoniasis. See news report on Reuters, New York Times and US News.
This is indicative of growing promiscuity among teens in the US. When teen pregnancy and abortion were on the decline, many thought teens are remaining sexually abstinent. But this report now proves that teens are more careful not to get pregnant, but their sexual behaviors have not changed much.
48 percent of black teen-age girls were infected, compared to 20 percent of whites and 20 percent of Mexican American girls. It did not say anything about Asian Americans. Among the infected, about 15 percent had more than one. See CDC website for more on teen sexual behavior stats. Very alarming numbers, indeed!
Future fallout of such behavioral trend is for anybody to guess. Not just the risk of these quarter of girls catching diseases like HIV or cervical cancer, but how it will affect over 3 million future marriages they will enter into and its impact on future generations, society and nations!
There is something clearly wrong with current sex education approaches and curriculums. Some have making this as the reason for vaccinating all girls … remember the Merck’s vaccine? Was this research funded by pharma companies? Are there any ulterior business motives behind these numbers? Of course, CDC recommends all teen girls to be vaccinated. In others words, they are bought in to the idea that all teens are going to be sexually active!
There is a price to pay for the choices we make. There ain’t any free lunches! Every idea had its consequences. Some more costly than the other, but no liberal and immoral choices was without a hidden cost. Traditional, conservative and moral ideas may seems like limiting our freedom, but it will surely preserve and sustain a social order and provide safe environment for future generations.
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March 7, 2008 at 3:36 pm
· Filed under Bible, Culture, Family, India, Leadership ·Tagged Abortion, feticides, India, Punjab, sex-determination
India is facing a new problem - girl deficit! Economy is booming and so is confidence level among the young generation for their palce in the world. Surplus can be seen in almost all facets, except for girl babies. Another progress paradox. Problem is more acute in North India and even in developed states like Punjab.
UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children report found that India’s already abysmal sex ratio is getting worse, with 80% of its districts recording declining child sex ratios (more male births than female) since 1991. Kerala, Pondicherry and the Lakshadweep islands were notable exceptions.
For those girls who do make it out of the womb, survival isn’t a guarantee, say child rights activists. Many die in their infancy because they are given less food and medical care than their brothers. Those who do survive will generally get less of an education — in both quality and quantity — than the boys in the family. Life isn’t always fair to the fairer sex.
Stricter laws against abortion, feticides, infanticides may be easier to pass, but harder to implement. The abhorrent practice of pre-natal sex determination and the many bogus doctors waiting exploit pregnant women cannot be easily contained. The cultural view of a girl child as burden got to be changed. Gender equality need to upheld. THey are not a liability or an investment without return.
Only a worldview that values and nurtures life in every forms can release us from the bondages of the traditions and form a life-affirming culture. We become so self-absorbed that we stake our future with our own. A soceity or nation that does not defend its most vulnerable is destined for doom.
Bible says, “God created human beings in his own image. God created them male and female” (Gen 1:27). After creating woman, God was very pleased and said “very good.” We are created beings and we bear a divine image. God values, affirms us and loves us dearly. That’s why God send Jesus to die in our place.
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March 4, 2008 at 4:48 pm
· Filed under Culture, Leadership, Ministries, Resources, church
No matter what media you turn to - Christian or secular, everybody is talking about the recently released report from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life on American religious landscape. Christian radio, tv, magazines, blogs, emails etc are filled with commentary and ‘expert’ opinion about the future of religion in America. Even many secular media dissecting this report with much delight, especially in light of Presidential election.
I had blogged on the same day as this report came out with some of my initial observations. But there is so much in it and many analysis continue to emerge. I am confident that for many months church and ministry leaders are going to chew upon this and try to understand its implications for themselves.
Mainline Protestant denominations continue their plunge downward through mediocrity to total irrelevance. No surprise there. Non-denominational evangelical churches continue to grow.The “unaffiliated” camp shows a rapid increase. Roman Catholicism is declining more quickly than any other “faith tradition” in One in four adults age 18 to 29 claim no affiliation with any religious institution.
One comment really caught my attention recently. Greg Smith, the researcher at the Pew Forum behind these report stated, “There is no question that the demographic balance has shifted in the past few decades toward evangelical churches. They are now the mainline of American Protestantism.”
It could mean two things: Evangelicals have taken the center stage in American Christianity or it is predicting the soon coming demise of evangelicalism like that of current mainlines. In many circles both of this reality is becoming more evident than ever before. Younger evangelicals are dropping out of established and mega churches. Emerging movement seems to be gaining strength. Religious leaders are throwing up their hands in the air at the challenge of the postmodern generation.
We are truely living in dangerous and exciting times! Leadership challenges we face have no precedents. How do we make sense of tumultuous shifts in demography? What does future looks like when faith allegience is so fickle? What do church leaders do when people are change churches like changing clothes? Something to really think about.
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