University campuses are exploding with protests not seen since the days of the Vietnam War. These protests are in support of radical Islam against Israel, an issue that the American left is trying to link to feminism, the LGBTQ movement, trans rights, climate change,support for abortion, and even "fat liberation." According to one activist, Palestine is "all the issues in one." But is it the deconstruction of the left?
Major medical report repudiates transgendering children. Not hiring someone with a criminal record is racist? And are Catholics Catholic?
While Christianity seems to be in decline in the United States, Europe, and other industrialized western countries, it is growing dramatically in other parts of the world. A list of the 10 Countries where Christian Population will Increase the most by 2050 is revealing. It also bodes well for Lutherans.
The U.S. has pursued a "rules-based international order," with treaties and organizations that promote mutual defense and world trade. Some conservatives now are questioning those arrangements, seeing them as entangling the U.S. in foreign wars (such as those in Ukraine and Israel) and creating a global economy that has harmed American workers. But is isolationism the answer?
Many Christians are saying that the term "evangelical" has acquired negative connotations and how that movement is in need of "rebranding," so here is an idea: Instead of calling yourself an "evangelical," identify with the church that you belong to. Though "denominations" have fallen into disfavor, bring them back to life by rediscovering the theological heritage they embody. (A free post.) Read more
Carl Trueman warns against a Christianity that loses its transcendent focus when it is drawn into immanent concerns, such as politics. He gives the example of theologians who gradually succumbed to the temptation of Nazism, contrasting them with Hermann Sasse and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whose Bethel Confession, "placed the transcendent God, his Word and sacraments, and his church above all earthly powers."
In debating Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas wanted to leave the question of slavery up to the decision of each state, which is Donald Trump's position on abortion. So observes an Editor of "The Federalist." Some evangelicals are defending his policy as realistic, but MAGA politicians now have permission to drop the issue and the political clout of the pro-life movement may be ending.
Ronald Reagan--and a Cranach subscriber--saved Israel (over Biden's objections); connection between the church slump and the surge in mental illness; and the Finnish Supreme Court will try the faithful Lutherans yet again.
Andrew Fowler has a thoughtful post-Holy Week meditation at RealClearReligion on Pontius Pilate. He says, in the words of its title, we presently live in "A Culture of Pontius Pilates." That is, we ask, "What is truth?" And even when we know what it is, we deny it for fear of the crowd.
Donald Trump has been saying that he would work out a "deal" on abortion that would please everybody. He finally announced his position. He would just leave it to the states. What do you think about this solution?
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