In the very same strip mall I saw the sign for a restaurant called Tim's Place, with the tag line: "breakfast, lunch, and hugs." It just sounded familiar. And then it dawned on me—this was the restaurant I'd heard about before, the one owned by a 26-year-old man with Down syndrome—Tim Harris. You may have heard this story on CNN or seen it on YouTube.
If we want Christianity to stay relevant with young people, they say, we've got to rewrite the way we do church, including our songs. Let's think about that.
Imagine you and your spouse find out you're expecting. Having experienced this moment a few times, I know there's nothing quite like it. Your world changes, and within days, your child's entire biography unfolds in your mind: her first steps, first words, kindergarten, little league, ballet, high school, college, and eventually a young adult who will make you insanely proud. It's all so promising.
When prenatal testing revealed that the White's second child had Down Syndrome, Heath was heartbroken and dreaded her arrival. Heath later understood that his daughter was just as precious as any other child. And he wanted the world to know the same thing.
Even after the Supreme Court's rulings, can you imagine our culture returning to marriage as God designed it? As we often say around here, politics is downstream of culture. Given what the current cultural definition of marriage is, the political one will soon follow, unless it is challenged and redeemed. This is where the battle must be waged.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan coined the phrase "defining deviancy down" to describe the process by which we accept outrageous acts that we would never have tolerated a generation ago. Well, looking at recent headlines, let's consider adopting a new term: defining depravity down.