It is typically entertaining when two popular intellectuals get into a public spat. Recently, Canadian psychologist and YouTube star Jordan Peterson called out the famous British biologist Richard Dawkins with an "I told you so!" After Dawkins complained on Twitter about New Zealand elevating traditional Maori stories to the same level as Western science, Peterson retorted, "Welcome to the world of post-humanism, sir. A world which you sadly helped birth. … [I]t wouldn't surprise me at all if th...
Dec 26, 2023•2 min
Today, January 13, we remember the Hussites who, on this day in 1501, published the first hymnal in history written in the language of the common people. The descendants of the Hussites are known as the Moravian Brethren, who carry on the rich tradition of hymns and church music today. Christians have good reason to commemorate this event. After all, ours, like Judaism, has always been a singing faith. The longest book in the Bible, and the one at its center, is the Psalms, a word that means "so...
Dec 26, 2023•7 min
As we celebrate Christmas today, let's look back at the world into which the Word who became flesh entered human history. It was a world shaped by the worship of false gods, gods who didn't care about their worshippers with worshippers who didn't care much about each other. The God who became flesh changed everything. His life, death, and resurrection not only exposed the false gods for the counterfeits they were, but His followers demonstrated a new way. As historian Rodney Stark puts it, Jesus...
Dec 25, 2023•59 sec
As you enjoy this Christmas in the company of friends and family, be sure to reflect on how the babe in the manger reveals to us God's wonderful love. But even more, as Chuck Colson explained over a decade ago, remember the cosmic implications of the incarnation … that God would indeed become flesh. Here is Chuck Colson. "The manger scene inspires a sense of awe and comfort to the hearts of Christians everywhere. But we often forget the staggering implications of Christmas. What image does the m...
Dec 25, 2023•4 min
John and Maria discuss the inconsistencies and fallout from the Pope's decision to "bless" same sex "marriage". A New York Times op-ed criticizes a popular children's program for its dad-affirming story lines. Also, John and Maria take a look at the theology of Christmas. Recommendations A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens The Muppet Christmas Carol Let Our Gladness Have No End by Sara Groves Segment 1: Papal Blessing of Same Sex Marriage "After approving blessings for same-sex couples, Pope as...
Dec 22, 2023•1 hr 1 min
In anticipation of Christmas, let's revisit the account from Luke 1 of the angel Gabriel visiting Zechariah to announce the birth of his son, John. According to Gabriel, John's role was "to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." Karl Barth, the famous 20th-century theologian, was inspired by a depiction of John the Baptist by Renaissance painter Matthias Grünewald. In it, John stands to the right of the crucified Christ, pointing, as Barth put it, "in an almost impossible way" toward His sa...
Dec 22, 2023•59 sec
One overlooked grace from God is that He, in His infinite wisdom, gave us four Gospels, instead of just one or two. For example, if it were up to only Matthew and Mark, we'd have the impression that John the Baptizer appeared out of nowhere and was more than a little weird. After all, it is from their accounts of John that we learn of his odd wardrobe and even odder diet. A point about John that every one of the Gospels emphasizes is that he was a fulfillment of a promise from the prophets Malac...
Dec 22, 2023•5 min
Back in 2016, Steve Tennes, owner of Country Mill Farms, posted on Facebook that because of their deeply held religious beliefs about marriage, the farm would continue to host weddings, but only between a man and a woman. In response, the city of East Lansing, Michigan, passed a regulation to prevent Country Mill Farms from participating in its farmer's market. This despite the fact that the Tenneses had participated for over five years without complaints. The Alliance Defending Freedom filed su...
Dec 21, 2023•1 min
In December 1791, the Bill of Rights was ratified by the United States. Though these 10 amendments to the Constitution are rarely mentioned after high school civics class, recent events here and abroad offer a glimpse of life without those rights and a reminder why they are so important as a defense against ideological overreach. If a proposed new law passes the legislative process in Ireland, the famous Irish gift of gab will require government approval. As Kristen Waggoner of Alliance Defendin...
Dec 21, 2023•6 min
On Monday, a document released by the Vatican doctrine office announced what the Associated Press called "a radical change in Vatican policy." In it, Pope Francis formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples as long as it was not done "liturgically" nor could otherwise be confused with the Sacrament of Marriage. If he hoped to avoid confusion, he failed. Confusion is, unfortunately, a standard part of Francis' tenure, who tends to lead and speak in ways less than clear. In fact, ...
Dec 20, 2023•1 min
Nearly a year after COVID shutdowns began in the United States, the ABC affiliate in San Francisco ran this headline : "Private schools opening in-person where public schools aren't." In February 2021, while the majority of private schools in California were back in-person, most public schools were still "distance learning." Around the same time, the public health department in Toledo, Ohio, had ordered all schools back to distance learning for the winter. Local gyms, offices, and casinos were a...
Dec 20, 2023•5 min
The Supreme Court has decided to hear a case about chemical abortion. The case will consider whether certain regulations for the so-called "abortion pill" (which is really a two-pill regimen) should have been jettisoned in 2021 when, using COVID as cover, the FDA removed the requirement of an in-person consultation before issuing a prescription. Chemical abortions are now accessed by mail and telemedicine across state lines. Unfortunately, the case won't consider the FDA's original approval of c...
Dec 19, 2023•1 min
In the beloved movie The Princess Bride the character Vizzini frequently cries, "inconceivable!" about things that keep happening. Finally, another character observes , "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." That scene comes to mind annually, when Merriam-Webster Dictionary announces its "word of the year." The announcement is intended to recognize words that have defined our cultural moment. In recent years, it has recognized words our cultural moment has r...
Dec 19, 2023•5 min
A listener recently asked how to respond to the accusation that Christians are not free thinkers. One way is to go over the list of novelists, artists, scientists, and philosophers from the last two millennia and see how many of them were Christians or worked from a broadly Christian framework. Consider also how much art over the past 20 centuries can be called "sacred." Read Augustine of Hippo or Jonathan Edwards and see if they qualify as free thinkers. Learn about the lives of scientists like...
Dec 18, 2023•1 min
Many Christians are familiar with the beautiful and tender words of the medieval theologian Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) in the hymns "O Sacred Head Now Wounded," "Jesus the Very Thought of Thee," and "Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts." Like other Church Fathers, he also preached on the topics of Advent and Christmas and had rich words to share. As well as a theologian, Bernard was a Church reformer, mystic, and abbot of the Cistercian monastery at Clairvaux. He played important roles in bot...
Dec 18, 2023•4 min
John Stonestreet and Maria Baer discuss prenatal genetic testing and Trisomy 18 after a Texas woman's request for an abortion was denied by the Texas Supreme Court. Also, Rob Reiner is releasing a negative documentary on Christian Nationalism, and SCOTUS will hear a challenge on access to the abortion pill mifepristone. Recommendations Colson Center National Conference Segment 1: Prenatal Genetic Testing and the Texas Abortion Case "TX Supreme Court Rules Woman Can't Get In-State Abortion " "5 T...
Dec 15, 2023•56 min
According to conservative commentator Ann Coulter, the pro-life movement "has gone from compassion for the child to cruelty to the mother (and child). Trisomy 18 is not a condition that is compatible with life." She was referring to a Texas Supreme Court decision rejecting a woman's request for an abortion on the basis of a health exception. Trisomy 18 is a genetic disorder of which 50% of babies die within their first week of life and 90-95% don't survive after one year. But this shows why phra...
Dec 15, 2023•1 min
Rob Reiner, known for his role as "Meathead" in the 1970s sitcom All in the Family and for producing movie classics like The Princess Bride, recently announced a new documentary he helped produce about the dangers of Christian Nationalism . According to Reiner, opposing abortion and the LGBTQ agenda are central tenets of Christian Nationalism . Several evangelicals, current and former, are featured in the documentary. It's always strange when a non-Christian explains to Christians what is and wh...
Dec 15, 2023•6 min
Right to Life News recently shared stories of couples in the U.K. who were pressured to abort their children after learning they may have Down syndrome. In fact, one of the mothers was reminded multiple times that she could legally abort her baby up until birth: "I was told that until my baby had started travelling down the birth canal, I could still terminate." In just the last two years, Scotland has seen an 84% increase in abortions where the baby had been diagnosed with Down syndrome . In th...
Dec 14, 2023•57 sec
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a famous twentieth century Christian, was a dynamic and occasionally controversial theologian who became a household name because of his character and courage. When it mattered the most, in a time when many of his fellow Germans—including pastors and priests—embraced Hitler and the Nationalist ideas of the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer stood with conviction. After the Nazi rise to power in 1933, the bulk of German Protestant groups submitted to the oversight of pro-Nazi leaders. T...
Dec 14, 2023•5 min
There's more than one recent example of DINKs, or "Dual-Income-No-Kids" married or cohabitating couples, boasting online about their double salaries and lack of responsibilities. DINKs, we are told, eat when and what they want, sleep as late as they wish, and pretty much follow whatever impulse arises. If a movie began with a character going on this much about how life is all about him, or how she only worries about herself, or how happy he is not to care about anyone else, or how she goes after...
Dec 13, 2023•1 min
Last week, the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT refused to condemn calls for Jewish genocide as bullying or harassment. While horrible antisemitic speech and behavior have long been defended on their campuses, this debacle occurred before the United States Congress. The presidents attempted to appeal to free speech rights, differentiating between speech and conduct via statements obviously crafted by lawyers. Their comments shocked and outraged many. UPen...
Dec 13, 2023•7 min
The Colson Center was among the original signatories of the Promise to America's Children and the Promise to America's Parents. A recent incident in Colorado shows why these promises are so important. An 11-year-old girl on a school trip was assigned to share a bed with a male student who identified as female. Her parents were not given notice that this bed- and room-sharing would even occur. Thankfully, her mom was also on the trip and intervened when her daughter called in a panic. Alliance De...
Dec 12, 2023•1 min
A new documentary entitled 1946: The Mistranslation that Shifted Culture claims that the mistranslation of a word in the 1946 Revised Standard Version Bible led to the rampant "homophobia" that now infects the Church. In the film, a Bible researcher and an author claim that a Greek word found in 1 Corinthians 6:9 should not have been translated "homosexuality." Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idola...
Dec 12, 2023•7 min
In a commentary last week , I discussed the tragic popularity of the new 988 national suicide hotline. Dramatic spikes in suicides and suicidality make this kind of intervention (and others) sadly necessary to prevent people from making an irreversible decision. I am thankful, however, that friends at the Restored Hope Network let me know that the hotline directs those who identify as LGBTQ to the Trevor Project, a radical advocacy group whose aim is to push young people toward sexual confusion....
Dec 11, 2023•1 min
From the earliest days of the Church, Christian theologians have marveled at the paradoxes found in the incarnation. Among the earliest expressions of this marveling comes from St. Augustine, the most influential theologian in Western Christianity. Augustine was born in 354 in Thagaste, a Roman city in modern Algeria. A brilliant thinker, he initially rejected Christianity as an intellectually empty faith, despite the faithfulness of his mother. After wandering through various pagan philosophies...
Dec 11, 2023•4 min
Three presidents of America's most elite universities raised eyebrows this week in their testimony before Congress when they refused to denounce antisemitic hate speech on their campuses. And John and Maria discuss the ethical implications of homosexual couples having children via surrogates. Recommendations The Promise: A Celebration of Christ's Birth by Michael Card Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West Segment 1: University Presidents and Antisemitism "WATCH: Safety Fir...
Dec 08, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Late last month, the Vital Statistics Council for Canada released new data about the country's 2022 death rate, citing cancer, heart disease, and COVID-19 as the leading causes of death. Conspicuously absent was the number of Canadians killed under their country's "Medical Assistance in Dying" program, which was 13,241 deaths last year. When the public noticed the omission, Canadian officials clarified : MAiD deaths are officially attributed to whatever ailment the person cited as the reason for...
Dec 08, 2023•1 min
It's not uncommon to hear that the divorce rate is the same inside the Church as outside. Though it's not true, even Christians tend to repeat it as if it were. Both the kind of church a married couple attends, and how faithfully they attend, make a notable difference in marital stability. In her new book, The Toxic War on Masculinity , Nancy R. Pearcey, professor and scholar in residence at Houston Christian University, refuted another widely held misnomer. "Many people assume that most theolog...
Dec 08, 2023•5 min
Late last month, Hungarian national Dániel Karsai, who has a progressive neurodegenerative condition, challenged Hungary's ban on assisted suicide before the European Court of Human Rights. Alliance Defending Freedom International has intervened in the case, standing up against the so-called "right to die." In a recent press release, they described the current European landscape when it comes to assisted death: "Of the 46 Member States of the Council of Europe, only six have legalized assisted s...
Dec 07, 2023•1 min
