Culture

The holiest month of our culture’s liturgical calendar is upon us. June, when pride is linked to sexual identity and the eschewing of the historical norms of sex and gender. A month when nearly all corporations will virtue signal their fealty to the secular religion of Sexual Gnosticism under the guise of the misguided notion of self-actualization. Every year, in June, we are hit in the face with a barrage of rainbow flags, pride-progress flags, parades, and logo changes. Pa

If you are active on Twitter (Give us a follow: @freethinkmin ,  @JoshRKlein ), or social media in general, you might notice that every so often the story of David and Bathsheba bubbles to the surface.  It is an interesting debate, seemingly between liberal (in the technical sense) and conservative theologians, about whether David’s actions with Bathsheba constitute, not only adultery and murder, but rape as well. The "conservative" theologians saying that there is no eviden

Never before have we witnessed first-hand such a rapid degradation of reality. Common sense seems to have died long ago, but now "logic" and "science" are also on their deathbeds. The prognosis of their revivability and survivability is yet to be determined. Their deaths directly relate to the "post-modern" worldview, which believes truth is relative and cannot be known. In today's increasingly secular environment, we are told, "That may be your truth; but it is not mine," or

The best defense against "arguments raised against the knowledge of God," as the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5, is good theology. As an analytic and systematic theologian, I have seen that when one grasps the fact that God is a maximally great being -- and one grasps exactly what that means -- then the multitudes of arguments raised against the existence of God have no teeth in their bite.  In the final chapter of my book, Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere M

The Grammy’s have long been a cultural symbol of transgression. The goal of the Grammy’s used to be to celebrate the best music artists in the world. It was an awards night. Or, at least, it used to be. They have always been edgy and culturally progressive. For instance, in 1973 Helen Reddy thanked God for her award but referred to God as “she” while doing so. The secular entertainment industry lends itself to this sort of subversive rhetoric. But recently the Grammy’s hav

I have spent many years wading through the history and ugliness of race relations in our culture and throughout the church.  There are some ugly moments, especially in America, for the church to deal with in regard to racism.  The evangelical support for Slavery in the mid and late 1800s and of segregation thereafter are a blight on our tradition. Theologically, these arguments for slavery never held any water, neither did arguments for racism or segregation. And, over time,

With tears welling up in my eyes, I read the Facebook post written by Dr. Michael Heiser; the effects of stage 4 pancreatic cancer were getting worse. This was heart-breaking news. Many of us had been prayerfully hopeful for Dr. Heiser’s healing over the past few months. Our prayers are still with him and his family as he, by all indications, seems to be finishing his race. But what a race this has been. What a blessing it has been to follow this man’s ministry. It’s not poss

Language is complex. Language provides the building blocks for communication in society.  What certain words or phrases mean within a given context helps to shape the understanding of the culture at large. Words, and their definitions, are what organize society. Words that define a culture’s foundational institutions most of all. Concise language provides clarity and direction for communities, cultures, and countries. Language matters. It is important to define what I mean

Are you a Christian Nationalist? The midterm elections are upon us. People will go out in mass to vote on Tuesday (many have already voted in early voting states) and the national rhetoric around how we ought to run the country has reached a fever pitch.  It always does.  Relentless attack ads, mudslinging, misrepresenting an opponent’s platform, or, flat out lying about it.  This has been the way of American politics for as long as I can remember. I wish it weren't so, but

The Church of Satan was started by Anton Lavey in 1966 as an atheistic religious organization focused on hedonism and lawful citizenry. Adherents to the Church of Satan claim not to believe in Satan or worship him but to strive for what they call “ethical egoism.”  Ironically, Satan’s most effective tool against humanity is not convincing people to worship him, but to worship themselves in leu of the Almighty God. Whether Lavey knew it or not, in effect, he did establish a

Scott Clifton is a Hollywood actor who has gained fame as a soap opera star ( One Life to Live, General Hospital, and The Bold and the Beautiful ). He has also gained the respect of both sides of the aisle in the "God vs. atheism" debate. Clifton is an ardent, but philosophically inclined atheist who goes by the moniker "Theoretical BS" (TBS). He recently tweeted out an argument against Christianity that left the Church scrambling. Indeed, many Christians did not know how to

The Four Horsemen of atheism stormed the cultural, philosophical, and spiritual scene in the early 21 st Century. Their dogmatic atheistic positions (or even anti-theist depending on who you talked to) were immediately popularized.  The late Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris comprised the crew.  They rode their vitriol for religious thought smack into the mainstream, seeking, for what felt like the first time, to proselytize religious folk

June 24 th , 2022 In history it will live next to dates such as: January 1 st , 1863 June 19 th , 1865 July 2 nd , 1964 The day that Roe was overturned and the federalization of the systematic slaughter of millions of preborn babies was ended (see: Moloch ). Since Dobbs was handed down much ink has been spilled and many articles written in celebration, and lament, of the decision. The end of Roe was never the goal of the pro-life movement, regardless of what Phil Vische

June 14th is (American) Flag Day. It commemorates the adoption of the Stars and Stripes of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. On this day, we celebrate the Flag of the United States of America. To be clear, we ought not worship the American Flag, but we should spend time reflecting upon the philosophical and theological foundation in which the Star Spangled Banner represents. Contrary to popular opinion, The United States

What is a Woman? Seems like an easy enough question to answer, but these days, apparently, it’s a stumper! Conservative commentator, author, and part-time Virginian, Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire seeks to answer this seemingly innocuous question in a documentary released on June 1 st . It is no coincidence that the release coincided with the first day of “Pride Month.” Unfortunately, one needs to be a paying member of The Daily Wire to access the film, but, in my humble opin

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before the fall. Proverbs 16:18 It is June and that means it is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. Oh, you didn’t know? Perhaps that is because June is also known as PRIDE month. Though one might be a more noble cause than the other. All over the nation, and world, corporations put on rainbow flags and put out statements of support for those in the LGBTQ+ community. Even the Marines are getting in on the action: https://twitte

By, Dr. Mike Licona The two recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have once again brought the matter of gun laws in the U.S. to the forefront, with one side rallying to press for stricter gun laws while the other rallies to defend the constitutional right to possess firearms. I understand both sides. We all want violent crime to subside. If we impose new laws that ban all guns, the number of deaths by guns will decrease significantly. If we make it more difficult to obt

A recent article published by Time magazine entitled “ It’s Time to Stop Giving Christianity a Pass on White Supremacy and Violence ” has made waves recently.  The author, Robert Jones, CEO and founder of PRRI, a far-left activist web sites states that “The clear historical record, and contemporary attitudinal data, merit an urgent discussion of white Christian nationalism as a serious and growing threat to our democracy.” However, the entirety of the article primarily addre

For decades our country has been mired by a decision that enshrined the sacrifice of human babies to the god of Moloch (also known as Molech). You might know this practice by its current moniker, abortion, but the practice is essentially the same.. Sacrificing our children on the altar of prosperity is a tail as old as human civilization. Instead of molten hands the altar is often a Planned Parenthood operating table. We have chosen, as a nation, to ignore the obvious humani

On April Fools Day (2022) I posted the following across social media: “Doctor Strange is the most evil character in all of fiction. How dare he actualize a future in which he knew all the pain, evil, and suffering that would happen if he were to give Thanos the time stone. I hate him!” “Doctor Strange is the most evil character in all of fiction. How dare he actualize a future in which he knew all the pain, evil, and suffering that would happen if he were to give Thanos the