When people think of the European Union or Council of Europe, the word “conservative” doesn’t usually come to mind. And yet, they certainly seem so next to President Obama’s one-sided view of religious persecution. While the rest of the West decries the violence directed toward Christians in the Middle East, the White House still stubbornly refuses to call it what it is: faith-based genocide.

[Wednesday], our neighbors across the Atlantic widened the gulf between the U.S. and the world by passing a resolution (117-1) about the atrocities taking place against Christians in the Middle East. The measure, “Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq,” lays an important framework for a similar vote in the European Parliament next week. For now, a committee of the Council of Europe has signed on to a key document condemning ISIS’s religious targeting. Radical Islamists, the group agreed, have “perpetrated acts of genocide and other serious crimes punishable under international law.” The Assembly goes on to remind the world that “under international law States have a positive obligation to prevent genocide, and thus should do their utmost to prevent their own nationals from taking part in such acts… The Assembly calls on member, observer and partner for democracy States to: fulfil their positive obligations under the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by taking all necessary measures to prevent genocide.”

Among many of its points, members demand that ISIS and other terrorists “should under no circumstances be granted refugee status.” Pointing to the Paris attacks, the group warns that opening the world’s borders to “an unprecedented wave of arrivals and migrants” puts countries at serious risk. Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have also been monitoring the crisis, which continues to gain steam in the international community — to the frustration of voters here at home. “Christians in the Middle East urgently need this recognition to wake up the world to what is going on. In contrast to other diplomatic notions such as ‘systematic mass murder,’ ‘genocide’ is an internationally recognized legal term. It is necessary to call for further steps, such as a resolution at the U.N. Security Council and a referral to the International Criminal Court.”

Together with organizations on both sides, FRC continues to call for the president’s intervention on the plight of Christians overseas. That starts with the simplest of admissions — which is that men and women are being targeted, tortured, and killed simply for following Jesus. As even liberals like Hillary Clinton sense the shift, it’s time for President Obama to stop leading from behind and do the same.

Originally published here.

Porn Study Reveals a Lot about Teens

As far as most young people are concerned, ignoring garbage is worse than watching it! That’s just one of the shockers in a blockbuster pornography study the Barna Group plans to release this spring. When asked, most teenagers (56 percent) say “not recycling your trash” is “usually or always wrong,” compared to the 32 percent who think watching porn is wrong. Unfortunately, the news gets much worse for parents of the next generation. While teen sex may be down, watching it is not. Most high schoolers and young adults are turning to pornography “because it is less risky than actually having sex.”

But that’s not necessarily true, studies say. There are plenty of dangerous side effects to pornography that can destroy lives just as easily as promiscuity. Pornography creates problems in marriages, children, and even society. Men who look at pornography are more likely to feel dissatisfied in their marriage — making it a prime pathway to infidelity and divorce. At its core, pornography is a love-killer. In one analysis, the more porn a man was exposed to, the more likely he was to prefer that women be submissive and subordinate to men. And as MARRI’s research bears out, men with this addiction also have a higher tolerance for things like rape, sexual aggression, and promiscuity. Child sex offenders, for instance, are more likely to view pornography, which helps fuel the demand for sex trafficking.

And if you think adult entertainment spares you from disease, think again. Pornography leads to sexual permissiveness, which is the gateway to STDs. It’s physically devastating, too — even fundamentally altering the brain! And yet, women are more into pornography than ever — a sad irony for an industry built on their exploitation. In a world where these images are a cell phone away, parents need to be especially vigilant. “Sexting” is rampant, Barna Group found. A whopping two-thirds of teens told the researchers that they’ve gotten a nude photo on their phone (41 percent have sent one).

As discouraging as Barna Group’s findings are, they may be exactly what pastors and parents need to hear. It’s time for America to wake up to the fact that too few Christians are talking about the problem of pornography. And until they do, there’s no one to blame for the country’s cultural condition but us.

Originally published here.