Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson Another sex education battle is brewing. First, there was a scathing New York Times editorial aimed at the Trump administration and at the idea of abstinence education. Then there was the front-page article in USA Todayon sex education, politics, and pop culture. These and other editorials and articles leave you with the feeling that: (1) the current sex education programs are working, (2) the abstinence programs are failures, and (3) the Trump administration is “advancing an anti-science, ideological…

Kerby Anderson Stephen Moore, an economist with the Heritage Foundation, wrote an op-ed with the intriguing title, “Goodbye, OPEC.” He argued that America was not only on the way to becoming energy independent but was also headed towards becoming energy dominant. What a change this is from just a few decades ago. I grew up with environmentalists warning that we were running out of food and energy. They were predicting future famines and a major energy crisis. It was nearly…

Kerby Anderson Over the last year, we have been hearing that the judges that President Trump has been appointing to the bench have been faithful to the Constitution. But few of us have time to read any of their opinions and determine that for ourselves. So today I want to summarize the first opinion rendered by Judge James Ho (who now serves on the 5thCircuit Court of Appeals). Here is the opening line of his opinion: “The unfortunate trend in…

Kerby Anderson You may have heard the term “cultural appropriation.” But I have found that many of our listeners were unfamiliar with the term and how it is used to criticize anyone who is not deemed to be “politically correct.” The online cultural appropriation police were in full view recently when a young woman decided to wear a traditional Chinese dress to her school prom. Since Keziah Daum is not Asian, this infuriated people on social media when she posted…

Penna Dexter A book-banning law has passed the lower chamber of the California legislature. Actually, the bill bans more than books. It bans anything that an individual might purchase that expresses Christian orthodox beliefs about how a person should deal with sexual orientation or gender identity issues. The proposed law treats honest endeavors to alter same sex attractions as criminal violations of the state’s consumer fraud act. California Assembly Bill 2943, now working its way through the California Senate, adds…

Kerby Anderson The Internal Revenue Code allows ministers and other religious leaders to take a housing allowance exemption, but that has now been threatened by a ruling by a federal district court judge. Her decision is currently on hold and has been appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Alliance Defending Freedom brief argues that the housing allowance provided to ministers “does not transfer public monies to ministers or houses of worship, nor does it result in any…

Kerby Anderson How accurate are fact checkers? Many fact-checking sites are tied to newspapers, and others are independent operations. Often they provide a valuable service. Sometimes though, the fact checkers need to be fact-checked. Such was the case with Snopes, which is one of the best-known fact-checking sites. Snopes did an analysis of one of the criticisms of California Assembly Bill 2943, which has been making its way through the legislature. The bill would prohibit the sale and distribution of…

Kerby Anderson Sometimes the most important principles of a news story are the ones rarely mentioned. When we compare the death of Alfie Evans to Charlie Gard, we see the loss of parental control. And when we contrast his situation to the royal prince (Louis Arthur Charles) we see the danger of socialized medicine. Over a week ago, the news dutifully reported that young Alfie Evans died because his parents were denied the opportunity to obtain treatment in Italy. Last…

Kerby Anderson The Bible gives us a story of the world told from God’s perspective. That is why the Christian worldview provides the best explanation of the world. It answers questions like, “Why am I here?” and “What is my purpose in life?” Greg Koukl provides a big-picture introduction to the story of the Bible in his new book, The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important That Happens in Between. He was on…

Kerby Anderson The crime rate is up in many cities, so maybe it’s time to consider a solution rarely suggested. Let’s see what faith-based organizations and people of faith can do. The evidence is that they can reduce the crime rate and the recidivism rate in our prisons. This is the argument Baylor University criminologist Byron Johnson makes in his book, More God, Less Crime. Sadly, most social scientists and even criminologists seem reluctant to make the connection between faith…

Penna Dexter GQ — once Gentleman’s Quarterly — was launched in 1931 as a magazine of fashion, style, and culture. Men look to it for advice on grooming, gadgets, and apparel. The current version delves into current events and culture. But the magazine has, perhaps, overstepped its mission statement in the April issue with an opinion article from the publication’s editors titled “21 Books You Don’t Have to Read.”  Number 12 on the list is the Holy Bible.  GQ’s editors have…