News that Caught My Attention From this Past Week

Study Links Sex on TV to Teen Pregnancy
A groundbreaking study has confirmed what many parents and family advocates have been saying for years: Highly sexual content on television is a bad influence on teenagers. A RAND Corp. study published in the journal Pediatrics showed that teens exposed to high levels of sexual content on TV were twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy in the following three years as teens with limited exposure. The study, based on interviews with more than 2,000 teens, called it "a compelling link." [citizenlink.com & foxnews.com]

It's OK to Pray in Jesus' Name
Last week, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — using a case from Cobb County, Ga. — proclaimed that praying "in Jesus' name" was acceptable at county board meetings when other constitutional provisions were followed. This ruling is directly in conflict with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which concluded in an opinion written by ex-Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, that city officials properly excluded from a rotation of leaders for opening prayers at a municipal meeting a pastor who prayed "in Jesus' name."

The ruling said precedent makes it clear that "the content of the prayer is not of concern to judges where ... there is no indication that the prayer opportunity has been exploited to proselytize or advance any one, or to disparage any other, faith or belief. Whether invocation of 'Lord of Lords' or 'the God of Abraham, Isaac and Mohammed' are 'sectarian' is best left to theologians, not courts of law," the court said. [worldnetdaily.com & Pastor's Weekly Briefing]

Discovery of Oldest Hebrew Text
In a site that overlooks the Elah Valley, where David slew Goliath with a well-aimed shot from a sling, archaeologists have discovered what they say is the oldest Hebrew text ever found. The discovery — by archaeologists Prof. Yossi Garfinkel and Sa'ar Ganor of Hebrew University — is being hailed as one of the most important finds in Israel since the Dead Sea Scrolls. The text, written in ink on a pottery shard, dates — according to Carbon-14 dating as well as chemical analysis of the pottery found at the site — from between 1,000 and 975 B.C. — the time of King David's reign. The writing, therefore, predates the Dead Sea Scrolls by about 1,000 years. [israelnationalnews.com]