Category: Christians & Culture

Commentary, from a Biblical perspective, on current events that are primarily cultural. There may be some overlap with politics and government, but the emphasis is on broader societal developments apart from politics, which also includes analysis of specific individuals.

Wood, Hay, & Straw

  

Jim Wallis, one of the leaders of what might be termed the Christian Left, has now come out in favor of same-sex marriage. Ever since his days as a member of the 1960s radical group Students for a Democratic Society, which was grounded in socialist/communist philosophy, Wallis has tried to walk a fine line in an attempt to marry [pun intended] Biblical principles with a humanistic, atheistic worldview. It has been as spectacularly unsuccessful as the same-sex unions he now… Read more »

The Great Deceiver

  

In the preface to his Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis points out the problems with man’s perception with respect to the existence of Satan and his minions: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician… Read more »

The Sense of Sin

  

We live in an age when the idea of sin is dismissed as a relic of an outmoded religious system designed to suppress one’s desires for happiness. As we’ve seen so abundantly recently, in our entertainment media and all the way to the Supreme Court, equality has now been applied to same-sex relationships. Anyone who disagrees with this new enlightenment is archaic. Our society needs the message that is at the very ground level of Christian understanding: all men are… Read more »

Salt, Light, & Truth

  

I write often about the drift of our culture into acceptance of a type of sex God forbade. For many people, this whole issue is simply a matter of “democracy”—let the people decide what they want. When you introduce the moral element, they tell you that’s irrelevant. All that matters is that we are devoted to popular sovereignty. As a historian, I know that term well. The last time it was front and center in the political debate was prior… Read more »

The Bible Miniseries: Worth Our Support

  

I’ve been watching The Bible miniseries on the History Channel. The final installment will be, fittingly, on Easter Sunday. My preferred name for the day is Resurrection Sunday, since that’s a more accurate representation of what took place—the miracle of all miracles. The series has been drawing astounding numbers. How do I know they’re astounding? Primarily because the critics are astounded. That’s a pretty good indication. They’re rather flabbergasted that such interest exists. What about the quality of the series?… Read more »

Holding to a Form of Godliness, but Denying Its Power

  

Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi will be present today in Rome for the celebratory mass to be held by the new pope, Francis I. They were chosen as part of the delegation because they are Catholic. Never mind that their beliefs are anything but Catholic. Both favor the pro-abortion stance and have come out in support of same-sex marriage. What I wouldn’t give to see the following scenario unfold: Biden and Pelosi, like too many of their fellow Catholics, are… Read more »

Hope in a Deteriorating Culture

  

The culture shift of the past forty to fifty years has been astounding. I remember the late 1960s when it began in earnest. Being in college from 1969-1973, during the height of the Vietnam War, meant interacting with that shift constantly. Yet, even in the midst of such influences, my Christian faith was confirmed and became more real than ever. This is what gives me hope. Today, those influences are more in-your-face than before. We’ve seen radical changes in the… Read more »