By Christy Barritt

Creationist Billboards Attract People to Answers 

Answers in Genesis, a creationist organization based in Kentucky, recently put up billboards that encouraged people to visit AiG’s website and watch a video presenting the case for God’s existence.

One billboard was placed in Times Square in New York City and three others were placed in the San Francisco Bay area. There are plans to place more in Los Angeles.

The billboards read, “To all of our atheist friends: Thank God you’re wrong.”

In a press release, AiG president Ken Ham said, “In a friendly way, we want to reach out to people in secularized parts of the country and share the hope we have in Christ . . . There is purpose and meaning in life. And we thank God for that.”

According to AiG, traffic to their website increased by 30 percent after the billboards appeared.

California Same Sex Couples to Receive Fertility Coverage

Same-sex couples in California will now have access to insurance coverage for fertility treatments after Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 460 into law.

The current standard for infertility under California law defines it as either a demonstrated condition or a year of intercourse without conception. Before the bill was signed into law, insurance companies denied coverage to homosexuals based on the policy holder’s “not having an opposite sex married partner in which to have one year of regular sexual relations without conception.”

Despite the laws of biology, this coverage will now become the norm in the state. The law also will allow unmarried couples to receive coverage.

According to Lori Arnold, a research analyst for California Family Alliance, this law will increase cost for insurance policy holders by mandating that all insurance companies underwrite infertility treatments for homosexual couples, who by definition cannot reproduce children together.

The law takes effect in January.

Technology and Millennial Faith

Millennials are known for being technology savvy. According to a new study by Barna Research, Millennials, or those who are 18 to 29 years old, are looking for ways to blend their faith and technology.

According to their research, seven out of 10 practicing Christian Millennials read Scripture on a screen. One third of them say they read the Bible on a phone or online. Fifty-four percent of them also use online videos to strengthen their faith.

Fifty-six percent of practicing Christian Millennials use the Internet to scope out new churches, while 14 percent said they fact-check sermons online.

“One of the most positive trends among Millennials is that they want faith that is holistically integrated into all areas of life—including their technology,” said David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group. “How the church acknowledges and engages the digital domain—and teaches faithfulness in real-life to young adults as well—will determine much about its long term effectiveness among Millennials.”

Birthrate Down, Desire for Children Remains

Though birthrates in the U.S. are down, people’s attitudes toward having children remain unchanged, according to a new poll by Gallup.

For the past 23 years, the number of Americans who either already have children, are planning to have children, or wish they had children has remained steady. So has the number of Americans who do not want children, which remains at five percent.

The numbers have shown that fewer women are having children or that women are having fewer children, but general interest in having children has remained consistent and high.

More than half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 40 have children. Another 40 percent do not currently have, but hope to have children one day.

Finances and the economy are the main reasons people listed for limiting the number of children they have or will have.

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