Issues In Perspective

Generally, when a 21st century person thinks of science, he/she thinks of certainty, truth or the realm of the absolute. One of the axioms of modern science that has been declared to be certain and absolute is the speed of light. And an absolute in Einstein?s theory of relativity is the absolute prohibition of speed faster than light.

Robert Bryce of the Manhattan Institute has written a most helpful article entitled ?Five Truths about Climate Change.? Because there is so much hype and emotional baggage surrounding this topic, it is always refreshing when you read something that is balanced and insightful. To that end, I want to use his essay as the basis for this Perspective.

One of the more perplexing aspects of our culture right now is the Occupy Wall Street movement. Questions about this movement abound, most important of which are what exactly does this movement want? What are the action points they are demanding?

With the rise of reproductive and genetic technologies, the world has increased the number of options people have when it comes to having children. Technology has enhanced the power of choice. What technology has not done is enable culture to live with the consequences.

One of the most important thinkers of the modern era was Karl Marx, one of the key founders of ideological socialism and communism. His Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital influenced the formation of the USSR, the Peoples Republic of China, Cuba, North Korea and many other smaller experiments in constructing a socialist / communist utopia.

One of the key founders of the Apple brand and product line was Steve Jobs, who died recently as a result of his struggle with pancreatic and liver cancer. His contribution to our technological society was truly revolutionary.

I just returned from conducting my annual study tour of Israel. As usual, it was an invigorating trip. While I was there, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, petitioned the 66th session of the United Nations to in effect unilaterally declare a Palestinian state. In this Perspective, I want to present a multifaceted analysis of this development.

Sociologist Christian Smith recently led a research team that conducted in-depth interviews with 230 young adults from across America, all of which focused on the moral lives of today?s young adults. The results are quite depressing. Columnist David Brooks summarizes several of the salient findings:

Christianity is not only a personal relationship with the living God through faith in Jesus Christ; it is a worldview. It is an entire way of thinking, covering not only theology, but how to think about ethics, history, science, literature, etc. Because God has revealed Himself verbally in the Bible, Christians have the answers to the most penetrating questions of life.

By the phrase ?genuine biblical Christianity,? I mean the faith clearly revealed in God?s Word, the Bible, and validated through human history. Using the seven questions of James Sire, let?s examine biblical Christianity as a worldview.

Mormonism is by far the largest and fastest growing worldview, with as many as 10 million adherents worldwide. I believe that it needs to be scrutinized and evaluated for its viability and its commitment to truth. Hence, this edition of Issues in Perspective will be devoted to such an analysis.

God. Mormonism teaches that God the Father was once a man, but became God. He has a physical body, as does his wife (the Heavenly Mother).

Mormonism has a strong commitment to the spiritual world, the realm beyond the physical; it is possible to connect with this spiritual world through the specific activities of the believer. As Bible-centered Christians, we believe that as well, but teach clearly that a relationship with God is possible only through Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

Last weekend the USA, and indeed the world, remembered the horrors of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Today, ten years later, politically, financially and socially, America seems to have lost its way. That sense of fear, of anxiety, is real and at times almost overwhelming. It is this long shadow of fear that I seek to address in this Perspective.

Without question, one of the most hotly debated issues in American evangelicalism is the role of women in the church. One issue that cannot be debated, however, is that the Scriptures affirm the equality of men and women, both in the image of God, in their position in Christ and as joint heirs.

With the ongoing financial struggles of the American economy, Asia (especially China) is gloating. Furthermore, many are now suggesting that America is no longer the world?s leading economic giant but, rather, a declining one.

After US SEALS killed Osama bin-Laden, they brought home a significant amount of intelligence from more than 100 computer storage devices collected from his compound. According to columnist David Ignatius, three major themes emerge from all this intelligence:

Our son, Jonathan, lives in London, UK and this August my wife and I were in London for his wedding. It was a very special time for our family. But during the time we were in London we saw the London police carrying machine guns and other weapons, something I had never seen in all the times I have been in London.

Worldview issues?the thoughts, ideas and convictions that explain the nature and qualities of organized civilization. If you believe that there is no God to which you are accountable or that there is no God who has provided redemption for you, you will live your life quite differently than one who affirms such propositions.

A New York Times writer recently published one of the most chilling and shocking articles I have read in some time. Entitled, ?Unnatural Selection,? the article uses a phrase new to me, ?pregnancy reductions.? A seemingly neutral term, it actually refers to a frequently used procedure of eliminating one of the twins growing in a woman?s womb.

The provision in President Obama?s health care law requiring Americans to purchase health insurance or face tax penalties was ruled unconstitutional on 12 August 2011 by the US Court of Appeals of the 11th Circuit in Atlanta. For the first time since it was passed, this provision of the health care legislation is in real jeopardy.

In the July 2011 edition of Christianity Today there is an interview with Bishop Kallistos Ware, formerly known as Timothy Ware, who had converted to Orthodox Christianity as a young man and who wrote a rather definitive book entitled The Orthodox Church.

The division of the church between East and West is rooted deep in church history. First of all, early on leaders noticed the difference and discrepancies that language brought.

For the Protestant, Scripture is the final authority. For the Roman Catholic, it is both Scripture and tradition. However, for the Eastern Orthodox, theological authority is internal, coming from the Spirit, Who speaks to believers through tradition.

One of my personal heroes went to be with the Lord in July?the British scholar and Christian leader, John R.W. Stott. He was 90 years old. I will miss his pithy, succinct writing, his gracious style and his deep-seated commitment to genuine, biblical Christianity.