Signs and Wonders 10.15

32-0. Since 1998, 32 states have held votes on same-sex "marriage," and all 32 have opposed it. Four states—Maryland, Maine, Washington, and Minnesota—have Nov. 6 referendums on the issue, and homosexual activists hope the streak will be broken. The pro-homosexual Human Rights Campaign is contributing at least $4.4 million in its efforts to influence the vote. That’s more than twice as much as the $2 million raised and spent by the National Organization for Marriage. In Maine and Washington, homosexual “marriage” seems to be leading in the polls, but polls are notoriously inaccurate on this issue, and they tend to shift in the last few days before the election—almost always in the direction of traditional marriage.

The end of denial. There’s been much comment in the media about a new Pew study saying that 20 percent of Americans now have no religious identification whatsoever. The study goes on to say that of the unaffiliated, 68 percent say they believe in God, while 37 percent say they are “spiritual” but not “religious.” Anyone who has been paying attention for the past 30 or so years has seen this survey coming. It is only now showing up in the polls. C.S. Lewis wrote about a similar situation in England more than a half-century ago: “Now it is quite true that chapels which were quite full in 1900 are empty in 1946. It occurred at the precise moment when chapel ceased to be compulsory. The withdrawal of compulsion did not create a new religious situation, but only revealed the situation which had long existed.” Lewis’ comment is why I actually welcome the study, because—as Alan Jacobs writes—it is better to know the truth than to live in denial.

Twin interactions. An Italian researcher has published interesting data about twins and how they develop in the womb. According to LifeNews.com, “Umberto Castiello of the University of Padova, Italy, published a report in October showing unborn babies have the ability to interact as early as 14 weeks into the pregnancy.” The research team examined video footage of twins gathered by a four-dimensional ultrasound. They found that the “14-week old twins touched each other head to head, arm to head, and head to arm. At the 18th week, they made more contact and, as the team wrote, began “spending up to 30 percent of their time reaching out and stroking their co-twin.” All of which is to say that science is slowly but inexorably destroying the idea that the pre-born child is less than fully human.

Golden Age of journalism? There’s much gnashing of teeth in the world of journalism as big-city dailies are struggling to survive. My own feeling is that the trouble could not be happening to a more deserving group. Their liberal bias and (till now) near-monopoly position have put them out of touch with the communities they serve. In fact, I often tell people that we could be seeing a new Golden Age of journalism. The outgoing dean of the Columbia Journalism School has a similar view. In an exit interview with The Daily Beast, he said, “As a consumer of news, this is the best time there has ever been.” He said it has been a “turbulent decade” for journalism, but the shakeup has produced a more diverse and vibrant media landscape. I couldn’t agree more.