SLAVERY When I first began to study the history of slavery around the world, many years ago, one of the oddities that puzzled me was the practice of paying certain slaves, which existed in ancient Rome and in America's antebellum South, among other places.

In both places, slave owners or their overseers whipped slaves to force them to work, and in neither place was whipping a slave literally to death likely to bring any serious consequences.

There could hardly be a greater power of one human being over another than the arbitrary power of life and death. Why then was it necessary to pay certain slaves? At the very least, it suggested that there were limits to what could be accomplished by power.

Most slaves performing most tasks were of course not paid, but were simply forced to work by the threat of punishment. That was sufficient for galley slaves or plantation slaves. But there were various kinds of work where that was not sufficient. Read On

BRINGING-UP GIRLS This week my little girl – and youngest child – becomes an adult. It is a strange feeling to suddenly become the mother of only adult children – an odd transition that no one says much about, but is one of many monumental and emotional passages that comprise the “empty nest” era.

As Kristin turns 18 and prepares to leave our home for college, I am overwhelmed with gratitude – so deeply thankful - that God picked me to be her mommy.

She has always been a delightful child, and I am so proud of the woman she has become. A stellar student, a joyful human being, thoughtful and warm - and at once both out-going and humble - Kristin is a mother’s dream come true. Read On

Belief in God Relieves Depression Excerpted from, "Belief in God Relieves Depression" The Washington Times. By Jennifer Harper. February 25, 2010--The "Big Man Upstairs" is getting accolades from mental health specialists who say they are finding that a belief in God plays a positive role in the treatment of anxiety and depression. University of Toronto psychologists reported last year that "believing in God can help block anxiety and minimize stress," their research showcasing "distinct brain differences" between believers and nonbelievers.

In patients diagnosed with clinical depression, "belief in a concerned God can improve response to medical treatment," said the new research, which has been published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology. The operative term here is "caring," the researchers said. "The study found that those with strong beliefs in a personal and concerned God were more likely to experience an improvement." "In our study, the positive response to medication had little to do with the feeling of hope that typically accompanies spiritual belief," said study director Patricia Murphy, a chaplain at Rush and an assistant professor of religion, health and human values. "It was tied specifically to the belief that a Supreme Being cared," she said. Read On

CROUSE CLARIFIES DATA Some commentators suggest that the increase in the percentage of all births accounted for by unmarried women is due to the decrease in married birth rates. Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, Director and Senior Fellow of Concerned Women for America's (CWA) Beverly LaHaye Institute (BLI), reports, "The data does not support this. Two facts are important in understanding the increase in the percentage of unwed births: the birth rate of married women has been very stable over the last 10 years, but the number of married women of childbearing age is declining. By 2002 the number of unmarried women ages 15 to 44 eclipsed the number of married women. By 2008 it was 13 percent larger. It is an increase in the number of unmarried women at the same time as a decrease in the number of married women that accounts for the increase in the percentage of births to unmarried women."

Dr. Crouse reports on the trends in BLI's just-released Data Digest, titled, "What We Can Learn from Marital Birth Rate Trends." The Data Digest can be downloaded from CWA's website. Read On

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• Prayer ruling 'flawed'
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• U.S. District Court Finds National Day of Prayer Unconstitutional
• Mo. Senate panel approves cuts to mental health
• Children dying at parents' request
• Student loan stand-down for new residents
• As Opposition to Health Care Grows, You Can Make Your Voice Heard
• Christian Student Group Argues Religious Freedom Case at Supreme Court

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