Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson During this election season, we will once again see how divided we are as a nation. We see a map of red and blue states and even have maps showing red and blue congressional districts. But there is growing evidence that we aren’t just a divided country. We are essentially two countries living within the same border. Bill Bishop made this case many years ago in his book, The Big Sort. Americans have sorted themselves into various enclaves…

Kerby Anderson Imagine you were in the midst of a discussion about nuclear arms policy. And in the midst of your debate, the other person says something like this: “I don’t think it’s fair that only the United States and Russia have nuclear weapons.” You pause, and then explain that many other countries (like China, France, England, Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea) also have nuclear weapons. And at that point, you might want to suggest that person learn a…

Kerby Anderson Some commentators are starting to call Generation-Z the “screenagers.” Let’s first define some terms. The Generation-Z (also known as Gen-Z) are those young people who were born after the year 2000. They are the generation following the millennial generation. Dr. Stephen Phinney says that “Gen-Z is compelled to create personal branding that is riddled with obsessive ‘manicuring’ regarding their online presence. This compelling act is driven by a fleshly self-life insecurity called, people pleasing.” He has found that…

Kerby Anderson The ongoing debate about how to stem the problem of gun violence in America has often been fueled by inaccurate statistics and faulty conclusions. If we are to craft effective public policies concerning gun violence, we should insist that accurate facts and figures be available to citizens and legislators. First, let’s at least acknowledge that violent crime has been dropping for decades. Lots of recent media attention makes it seem like violence is on the upswing. It is…

Penna Dexter There’s a sense in which we get surprised by Easter. There’s such a long ramp-up to Christmas every year. And then it’s over and the new year starts, and we’re all busy, and all of a sudden there’s Palm Sunday, and then Easter is here. Perhaps your church emphasizes the 40 days of Lent and you prepared for Easter this year. Perhaps not. Our society has lost some of that. The central celebration of Christianity doesn’t even have…

Kerby Anderson In a recent essay, Ravi Zacharias devoted a few paragraphs to the importance of moral reasoning and an ethical foundation. He reminded us of the insight that can be found in the book, The Roads to Modernity. Gertrude Himmelfarb makes a very powerful statement in the book. She argues that the difference between the European Enlightenment and the English and American Enlightenment was really one word. For the French philosophers, reasoning was supreme. For the English and American…

Kerby Anderson More and more Americans believe in pluralism and many believe in universalism. First, let me define the terms. Universalism is the belief that everyone will be saved after death and go to heaven. Pluralism is the belief that all faith positions and belief systems are equally true or essentially true. According to a Barna survey, Americans are still not embracing universalism. A majority of Americans still believe in exclusive views rather than inclusive views concerning heaven. Those surveyed…

Kerby Anderson The box office success of the film I Can Only Imagine is one more illustration of the success of faith-based films. Obviously, some have done better than others. Not all of them have a Christian theme like this one, but they all do well. Movieguide released its “2018 Report to the Entertainment Industry” that looked at the box office performance of films released in 2017. Films with very strong Christian content or content that has a strong redemptive…

Kerby Anderson Should the United States have a military parade on Veteran’s Day? The reaction to the suggestion by the president has brought lots of comments. When I asked the question on my radio program, the phones lit up. Rachel Alexander wrote an article about the response from liberals concerning the idea, so I had her on the program. She explained that many liberal groups and news organizations argued that a military parade is what despots and authoritarian governments do….

Kerby Anderson Can a state government compel speech? That is a question that surfaced in the Supreme Court case concerning a Christian baker. It came up again last week when the same court heard oral arguments about a California law that compels pro-life pregnancy centers to promote abortion. Pro-life people with religious objections to abortion run these centers. But this case is much more than a religious liberty case. It is fundamentally a First Amendment free speech case. The law…

Penna Dexter The US Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a case that will determine whether pro-life pregnancy centers will be forced to speak a message that promotes the very evil they exist to combat.  NIFLA v. Becerra challenges the Reproductive FACT Act. This 2015 California law orders licensed crisis pregnancy centers to instruct women on how to obtain free or low-cost abortions through the state’s Medi-Cal program. The FACT Act levies draconian fines on centers that don’t comply….