Let Men be Free: Religious Freedom Reminder | True Worldview Ep. 12

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Like so many, President Trump is a bad man who sometimes does good things. While some of those good things put the lie to certain false accusations against him, my thoughts here don’t center on the President but on religious freedom, a good thing, and the fact that the President has done some good things in that arena. Recently, he addressed the annual Values Voter Summit where he said, “We believe that every American has the right to live by the dictates of their conscience and the teachings of their faith. We believe in the right to free exercise of religion.”

There are certain things that Christians need to be reminded of and think thoughtfully about on a regular basis. When we fail to do so, we forget not only the importance of those things but also the ground for them. We ignore them until they’re threatened, when they should never have been threatened at all. And perhaps they wouldn’t have been threatened had we been diligent. One of those massively important things is religious freedom.

Religious freedom is vital for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the reality that all other freedoms rest upon it. Without religious freedom, the freedom of speech goes out the window. Without free speech, it’s easy to see that certain political ideas would be banned along with the books, magazines, radio stations, or web sites espousing them. Next, it wouldn’t be long before certain common businesses would be banned. And we could go on.

The President further said that “our shared values are under assault like never before,” and he’s right. People need to be reminded that certain rights come from God, not the government. If murder is wrong, then there is an implied right to life. If stealing is wrong, there is an implied right to property. We could add more. The point is that government doesn’t grant rights but merely recognizes them. That’s why Americans have long held that certain of our rights are inalienable. Our government can’t take them away because the government didn’t grant them; God did. Religious freedom is an inalienable right given by God to all persons. That doesn’t mean that all paths lead to God. They don’t. There is only one way to God and salvation: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But it does mean that God has given all human beings liberty of conscience, whether they’re right or wrong. As John Leland, the Baptist preacher instrumental in the adoption of the Bill of Rights declared, "Every man must give account of himself to God, and therefore every man ought to be at liberty to serve God in a way that he can best reconcile to his conscience. If government can answer for individuals at the day of judgment, let men be controlled by it in religious matters; otherwise, let men be free."

Join Christi and Paul as they discuss these issues and more on True Worldview.

Racism, Privilege, and Power | True Worldview Ep. 11

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So, here’s just a little something extra on racism, privilege, and power. Critical Theory is all the rage today; it sounds so compassionate, so equitable, and so plausible. Oppressor groups have indeed oppressed oppressed groups. Of course, the leap from that fact to the notion that all persons in majority groups are racist -- or whatever evil du jour -- simply because they are members of the majority group is, in a word, oppressive.

It’s fair to say that God hates racism, and therefore Christians should too. All persons are created in the image of God and have essential worth, dignity, and honor. Slavery, hatred, making fun of, and numerous other forms of demeaning persons because of their race or orientation is not only an attack on those persons, but an attack on God Himself. I trust you see the logic. An attack on a human being is an attack on the image of God in that human being, and therefore is, in some sense, an attack on God.

But here’s the rub: just because someone calls something racist doesn’t mean it’s so. I actually went to a Hispanic Appreciation Dance at a local college and danced to a number of Hispanic tunes. Not one of the Hispanics there accused me of cultural appropriation. They seemed to appreciate the fact that I was at the appreciation dance to appreciate them. Yet, despite the sensibleness of all that mutual appreciation, there are those who would disagree. But let’s not kid ourselves; the world sees and defines all kinds of things differently than God does. While God grants the liberty to a same-sex couple to call themselves married, they in fact are not married regardless of what they, the culture, or the state says. God is the one who defines marriage. And God is the one who defines racism, not the academy.

Indeed, there are those who are privileged for one reason or another. God is ultimately in charge of that. And with privilege often comes power. It’s our responsibility to use that privilege and power the way God would have us to. He’s our authority, not the culture. Our mandate is to glorify God and do good unto others. If we do that, we might get accused of cultural appropriation from time to time, but in God’s estimation, we’ll be serving in a way that’s culturally appropriate.

Woke Culture: The Rise of Critical Theory | True Worldview Ep. 10

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It’s a new normal in American culture: a culture in which seismic upheavals in terms of worldview and resulting legislation are wreaking havoc. A major segment of academia, a large segment of political pundits, and a growing segment of the population now believe in some sense that white persons are racist simply because they are white. More specifically, because they are the beneficiaries of white privilege, they are racist by necessity whether they realize it or not. As Stephanie Wildman declared, “all whites are racist in this [systemic] use of the term because we benefit from systemic white privilege.”

As with all things, there’s a worldview behind this new normal. In popular parlance it’s referred to as Cultural Marxism, while in academic circles it’s referred to Critical Theory. Neil Shenvi defines Critical Theory as “an ideology that divides the world into oppressed groups and oppressor groups and seeks to liberate the oppressed.” He points out that “it is currently the reigning theoretical paradigm in academic disciplines like gender studies, critical pedagogy, critical race theory, anthropology, and queer theory, and forms the ideological foundation for large segments of the secular social justice movement.” The oppressed as well as the oppressors must come to see the so-called truth of the situation. They must be “woke.”

Certainly, racism is wrong. But is one a racist simply by virtue of being white or anything else for that matter? The testimony of scripture is no. God is the one who made us who we are.

Accordingly, a primary need for Christians is to think at a worldview level. These issues are not mere differing political opinions. They’re issues rooted in a worldview diametrically opposed to Christ and his gospel. These are in fact gospel issues in a sense. Certainly it is the gospel that saves, but the gospel has implications for civil society and God’s program for humanity. God’s kingdom is brought to bear when persons come to know Him, but it’s also brought to bear when those who know Him influence society for His glory and the good of those in that society. It’s part and parcel of being salt and light, and It’s time for Christians, not to become woke, but to be awakened for the task.

Join Christi and Paul as they discuss these issues and more on today’s episode of True Worldview.

Cultural Engagement in Music: Consumerism vs. Creativity | True Worldview Ep. 9

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Christi and Paul move beyond their reflections on the coming deaths of nearly every Rock legend to contrast their music with pop music today. They touch on consumerism vs. creativity as competing forces behind music production, which leads to some thoughts concerning biblical, cultural engagement rooted in the beauty of God and our call to image Him.

The Coming Death of Just about Every Rock & Roll Legend | True Worldview Ep. 8

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Icons dies over time, but we're about to be confronted with the deaths of thirty or so Rock & Roll legends -- likely in the next ten years. Such things cause us to think about our own mortality, the fleeting nature of life, and what it all means. Of course, the defiance and rebellion that characterizes Rock culture is thought provoking too. "The Who" belting out "I hope I die before I get old" comes to mind. Join Christi and Paul as they discuss these issues and more.

The Religion of Our Culture | True Worldview Ep. 7

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On today’s episode Christi and Paul talk about the religion of our culture. There’s a common idea that one can come to a subject from a position of neutrality; that we can leave religious issues at the door and simply talk in terms of science, or the latest political “truth” of our day. But every idea has a worldview behind it. Listen in as Christi and Paul debunk the idea of neutrality and highlight certain cultural religious elements along the way.

Racism, Culture, and the Transcendence of the Gospel | True Worldview Ep. 6

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Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, came under fire recently after a photo emerged of him wearing blackface to a party when he was 29. Christi and Paul tackle this head on and ask questions like "What is racism?" They discuss the political climate of the Civil Rights Movement vs. when the photo was taken and compare it all to our current culture. How should Christians respond? Listen in for more.