Culture

This was not a review I wanted to write. I am still not finished with Megan Basham’s newly released book Shepherd’s For Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda . I wanted to review the book in totality before I finished it but the news cycle and reactions waits for no man and so, unfortunately, there are things to be addressed prior to the release of a broad overview of the book. (That review is forthcoming.) If you have followed along with the r

Facebook recently deleted one of my posts that was garnering lots of attention. Fortunately, before it was deleted, I felt led to copy and paste my post along with many of the great comments and save it. This allows us the opportunity to continually benefit from the iron-sharpening conversation that was taking place. It also allows others to see if the Book of Face was justified in violating free speech. The topic of the thread was about Marxists who have been infiltrating t

March 30 th 1981. Exactly six years before I was born. The last time a President or Presidential Candidate was the victim of an attempted assassination. Then President Ronald Reagan was leaving the Hilton Hotel after a rally when John Hinckley Jr. shot him at near point-blank range. Reagan was rushed to the hospital. Multiple staffers were seriously injured. Upon arriving at the hospital, it is said that as Reagan was rushed into surgery he quipped to the surgeons, “I ho

I am a staunch abortion abolitionist. I believe that human life and personhood starts at conception and thus that any ending of that life intentionally is murderous. I have written some on the topic here at FreeThinking Ministries (Read: After Roe ) and debated the topic in various ways and venues throughout the years. I have made the argument for life from scripture and without scripture. In fact, I have argued that the 14 th amendment of the United States supports a feder

There is a good chance that most reading this blog have heard and can finish the State Farm jingle that begins with the words in the above title. More than making the point that a good neighbor is available to help, the message is that State Farm Insurance is always there to help. We can imagine that whoever came up with the advertisement thought they were on the cutting edge of marketing. Little did they know that two thousand years ago Jesus had made the same point—dare we

A few months ago I wrote an article on the West’s move towards a post-Christian culture ( Post-Christianity: What's That? ). Since the article’s publication at least two prominent atheists decried the fall of Christianity in the West. One claims to have converted to Christianity ( Ayaan Hirsi Ali ) and the other maintains atheism but embraces “cultural Christianity” (Richard Dawkins) . They, along with fellow atheists Bret Weinstein and Tom Holland recognize that the fall o

On October 7 th of 2023 an event happened that would change the trajectory of world history. Hamas’ attack on Israel carried the same weight historically as December 7 th of 1941. However, since it involved Israel it carried even more significance in certain religious circles. On October 13 th of 2023 I wrote an article beseeching my brothers and sisters in Christ to pursue fidelity to Christ rather than discernment of the "End Times" ( Is This the End in Israel? ).  Since

I've been writing and speaking about "nationalism" since 2019. The first article I wrote on the topic was entitled, " Should Christians be Against Christian Nationalism? " This article was in response to a statement many Christians signed condemning Christian Nationalism, but it never defined the term or clarified exactly what this bogeyman was. Before going any further, let's define the word "nationalism." Over the past few years, the first definition that comes up after a G

By Tim Stratton and Josh Klein We were recently disheartened to see Ron DeSantis and Nikki Hayley drop out of the presidential race. This effectively guarantees Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for 2024. Although I (Stratton) left the Republican Party during the George W. Bush era, I begrudgingly voted for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020 because I believed the alternative was so much worse. Although we both believe Trump is a deeply flawed person, as Christians and anal

Alistair Begg has been a faithful minister of the gospel and pastor for nearly 50 years, 40 of which he has served at the same church near Cleveland, Ohio. Begg also started a popular radio ministry called Truth for Life . His ministry has been influential for the gospel and discipleship of the church for decades. Begg’s thick Scottish accent and fatherly tone has been a mainstay in evangelical homes and an encouragement to fellow churches throughout his ministry. He connec

Whenever a well known atheist departs from his or her disciplined stance against the existence of God to an openness to Him cultural waves are made. Larger waves are made if said person claims to have converted to Christianity. In fact, the waves are so large that very few prominent atheists have ever made the leap as public and definitive as Aayan Hirsi Ali recently did. A little over a month ago the famed former Muslim turned atheist turned to Christianity and the waves ha

Recently, on an episode of The Big Conversation from Premier Unbelievable? , the well-known Daily Wire host and political thinker extraordinaire Ben Shapiro debated against Oxford graduate of philosophy and theology, Alex O’Connor. The resolution of the debate was the question: "Is religion good or bad for society?" Ben Shapiro is a monotheist who believes that the Judeo-Christian worldview, in particular, is good for society, while a theist Alex O’Connor, the YouTuber form

Clarifying Terms  If you’ve paid attention to the religious discussions about politics, then you have seen two developments. One of the developments is a grassroots solidifying of good ole’ conservatism—what some will call patriotism or nationalism. Recent history shows a close relationship between the emboldening of good ole’ conservatism and Trump’s administration—something that depending on your political worldview is either a helpful reinforcement of healthy politics or a

The year was 2006 and I was in my first preaching class in college. I attended Grace University, a small undergraduate Christian school on Omaha, Nebraska. My first class on preaching was taught using a book titled Communicating for a Change: 7 Keys to Irresistible Communication by Andy Stanley. In the book Andy makes a compelling case for the single point message. A method of preaching that takes the congregant from engagement to tension, to encouragement, and then to convic

Evil was on full display on your screens, X feed, Facebook and Instagram.  We could either look away and pretend it does not exist or we could stare it in the face and grieve. In the past week we have been inundated with harrowing news and details concerning the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 th of 2023. The worst attack against the Jewish people since the holocaust and the worst terror attack in the world since 9/11 and perhaps, even worse than 9/11 when we c

There has been a new term floating around the Evangelisphere (if that’s a word, if it’s not, let's coin it) in the last few years: “post-Christian.” FreeThinking Ministries recently changed some verbiage on the website to indicate that the mission of the ministry is to equip the church to engage with the post-Christian culture . Some might say, "you (FTM) minister to all sorts of people all over the globe. You ought to relate to culture in general." Yes, this covers both p

This article has been updated with notes on recent events that lend further credence its thesis. Edits are marked within the article. Recently, I wrote a movie review about Sound of Freedom (See Here: Sound of Freedom ). The review received praise and push back. Which I welcomed. The problem, as far as I can tell, is partly because both sides fell into the partisan trap. This happens when we politicize something that ought not be politicized or assume something is being po

Question: Dear Dr. Tim,  I'm interested to know if you have any biblical thought on the alien thing?!? Do you think there might have been sightings, contact, etc.? I was wondering if there is anything biblical in regards to that? With the recent government hearings on this and the conspiracy theories going around for some reason you were the first person I thought to contact. - Tammi Dr. Tim's Response: Hi Tammi! Yes, I do have some thoughts about what to do with extraterrest

Edit 9/29/23 -  I can no longer recommend this movie in good conscience. For more, see my YouTube episode of FTMonthly released on 9/29/23 and read this article entitled the Ballard of Truth . Recently, I had the opportunity to watch the hot new film Sound of Freedom .  If you have not heard of this movie, you may be living under a rock of some sort as it has been making headlines since its release on July 4 th . A fairly low budget film that was completed five years ago bu

A few months ago I was invited to speak to a group of parents at a church. The topic: Standing on Truth in Love .  A few months prior I was invited to another church to speak on Identity and how to address it in a post-Christian culture (to book speaking engagements click: HERE ).  In both instances I started my talk on the topic the same way: with a quick note on conversations, and how to have them in different contexts. Over the past decade I have become convinced that on