Several recent studies are beginning to demonstrate the value of the traditional family. Grudgingly, even some politicians and liberal media types are recognizing that God`s plan works best.

The studies verify what most thinking Christians have known for years: that a good father exercising measured correction is much more likely to produce mature, productive adults. However, abusive and negligent parents have prompted the government to step in. Twenty states legally ban spanking in public schools and 24 countries have also made it illegal for even parents to apply the paddle to the seat of correction.

For several years the United States Congress has been considering ratifying a treaty with the UN called the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These UN "treaties" are a diabolical, back-door way of handing our American "rights" over to UN control. Article Six of the U.S. Constitution states: "...all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land..."

The U.S. and Somalia are the only ones who have not signed onto this globalization scheme. But the current administration is pushing hard in that direction.

The laws that could be imposed by this treaty are patently unbiblical. Article 19, requires protection of children "from all forms of physical or mental violence." A UN committee charged with defining the treaty rules states flatly: "Corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment are forms of violence and States must take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to eliminate them." Thus spanking, as prescribed in Prov. 22:15, is systematically being outlawed in countries who have signed this UN "treaty."

The elimination of spanking produces a reduced fear of punishment. Another study illustrated this. It found that those who believed in hell were less likely to commit a crime. Could removing "hell" from the modern bibles have something to do with this?

The importance of fathers is "discovered" in another pair of "studies." Children without fathers have a much higher poverty rate, school dropout rate and are more likely to be in trouble with the law. However, just having a father in the home does not always help if the child feels rejected by the father.

God`s Bible is full of illustrations of the importance of godly men. But today`s culture has done everything possible to destroy the image of a good father. The father is so often a bumbling dufus in modern films. Few churches focus on developing godly fathers. 

Proponents of same-sex marriage have long insisted that there are no bad effects on children in same-sex familes. However, a recent study claims to have found that 23 percent had experienced some type of sexual abuse, compared to 2 percent of children in intact, biological families.

The new Chick tract, Born Wild, highlights some of the cultural factors that have contributed to today`s high level of juvenile crime. The tract illustrates how we are born with a sinful, rebellious heart and how an overwhelmed mother, lacking the backup of a strong father, has little recourse against a child who understands how to bring in the government to defend his evil ways. Fortunately someone in the family is able to bring in the grace of God and a regenerated heart redeems the situation.