By Christy Barritt

Ohio Amish Attacked

Several Amish living in eastern Ohio suffered attacks this past fall. Their hair and beards were forcibly cut with scissors or battery-operated clippers.

Cutting an Amish man’s beard is degrading and insulting to Amish people, who believe the Bible instructs women to grow their hair long and men to grow beards after they’re married.

The attacks were perpetrated by five members of a group that splintered from the Amish community.

Two men who were attacked have decided to file criminal charges, not a common practice among the Amish, who don’t believe in revenge and generally settle disputes internally.

The Ohio community forms one of the nation’s largest Amish populations.

“In God We Trust” Reaffirmed by U.S. House

In November, members of the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution reaffirming “In God We Trust” as the national motto.

Representative J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) said the resolution was necessary because of current court cases that aim to remove references to God on U.S. currency and public property.

“As our nation faces challenging times, it is appropriate for members of Congress and our nation—like our predecessors—to firmly declare our trust in God, believing that it will sustain us for generations to come,” said Forbes in a statement.

Resolutions do not carry the force of law, nor do they require the president’s signature. A similar resolution was passed in 2006 by the U.S. Senate.

Ministers Divided on When to Perform Weddings

American Protestant ministers have varying standards when it comes to performing wedding ceremonies, according to a new survey by LifeWay Research.

One thousand randomly selected ministers were surveyed, and the study found that a majority (58 percent) will perform weddings for couples they know are living together. Thirty-one percent will not, and 10 percent are not sure.

Five percent of ministers will not perform a marriage ceremony if the bride or groom has been divorced.

“Marriage is a much-debated topic today and we wanted to see how Protestant ministers handled marriage requests,” said Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay Research. “Like the churches they serve, their standards for whom they will perform marriages vary greatly.”

Gap Between Wealth of U.S. Old and Young Bigger than Ever 

The wealth gap between the young and old is now bigger than ever according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.

Reasons for the differences in wealth among the age groups include that older Americans generally have less debt and already own their homes, while younger adults are weighed down by financial struggles brought on by the housing bubble and college loans. 

The economic struggles of the past few years have also diminished job opportunities for younger adults.

The study also showed that wages for older workers rose four times as fast as those of younger employees.

“The current gap is unprecedented,” the Pew Research Center said in a statement. “Older adults have prospered in recent decades relative to younger adults.”

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons.  www.christybarritt.com