RealClearReligion Articles

Each passing month, the upcoming American election becomes more central to everything happening in our nation and around the world. Whether we think about the recent atrocity of Iran trying to bomb the nation of Israel or the confusing and often contradictory claims of climate activists, we see that everything is political. All issues and events become fodder for Republicans and Democrats to use in persuading potential voters to send their candidate to elected office. With each election cycle, members of both major political parties issue dire warnings that this election could be the undoing...

Last month, President Joe Biden issued a Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility, setting the date for Easter Sunday. The announcement was immediately met with overwhelming cheers on the political left and a crescendo of outrage on the political right. The issue that we have as Christians with a national push to normalize and celebrate transgenderism is not that this specific proclamation was released on a religious holiday, wicked as that is, but that it is the continuation of a blatant and blasphemous attack on the Word of God. This evil presidential proclamation represents the...

Jesus Christ is a prisoner. He had yet to be scourged, but the night before Good Friday inflicted its own terrible scorn with emotional turmoil: agony, betrayal and abandonment. He knows his path leads to death; but he stands before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, who hesitates to oblige the crowd clamoring for blood. In all the Gospels, Pilate is perplexed by the accusations, consistently finding “no crime in him” (John 19:6); and he is not marked as a dastardly tyrant by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. But he has a few questions for the righteous man, and even believes...

It’s that time of year again, when the World Happiness Report releases its findings on the happiest countries on the planet. From 2023 to 2024, the United States plunged from 15th to 23rd, hitting an all-time low in average happiness ranking. When two time periods are viewed side by side — 2006 to 2010 and 2021-2023 — the U.S. has had the 15th-sharpest decline in overall happiness of the 134 countries surveyed. Of western nations, only Canada fared worse (14th highest decline). What has led to such a steep reduction in people’s overall happiness in the U.S.? Gallup,...

As marvelous as Jesus’ resurrection is, Christians often forget much of its significance. We often assume the resurrection, failing to think on it as deeply as we ought or to teach it as frequently as we should. That is why we must reflect on the significance of Jesus’ resurrection, not just on Easter, but all year long, for a consistent, maturing faith.  In 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, the Apostle Paul rebukes the church because some have denied the possibility of bodily resurrection, and others have spiritualized resurrection. Paul shows how inconsistent that is with the...

In this world, there are different types of people who believe they have a relationship with Jesus. There are those who have had some “encounter” with Jesus, and they wrongly feel there is a connection because they are deceived. There are other people who genuinely do have a relationship with Jesus, but they have been taught that authentic relationship with Jesus consists of a certain experience or emotion, so they doubt the reality of their salvation. Then there are Christians who have authentic fellowship with Jesus and are certain of it, but they know they can excel still...

Trusting others presents massive challenges in our fallen world. Everyone has been corrupted by sin, and therefore fails to be fully faithful or trustworthy. As Proverbs 20:6 says, “Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man?” While humans prove to be both distrustful and untrustworthy, God presents Himself as the One we can supremely trust for everything in this life and beyond the grave. We see an intentional emphasis in Scripture on the trustworthiness of God, but Scripture does not command us to have a blind faith. The Lord instructs us to trust...

Can anybody name one-square inch on the planet where Communism has done anyone any good? Anywhere? Not for the ruling elites, but for the people themselves? It doesn’t exist. How, then, do they continue to manage to create new recruits? Well, a story out of California last week explains one strategy. Writing for The Free Press for Free People, Francesca Block reports (3/7/24): “An activist group in California has paid nearly 100 public high schoolers $1,400 each to learn how to fight for racial and social justice.” This is the brainchild of a group called Californians for...

This month, we are starting a series entitled Suffering Servant, Risen Lord, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Over the next several weeks, we will look at different passages of Scripture relating to the purpose of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The first is Genesis 3, which is the account of humanity’s fall into sin through Adam’s transgression and the place where redemption and salvation became necessary. Prior to Genesis 3, we did not need a crucified and risen Savior because there was no sin.  When sin entered the world, though, everything...

Mother Cabrini is anything but frail. Despite suffering from a long-term debilitating lung condition as a result of nearly drowning as a young girl, the Italian-American saint exhibits a tenacious resolve, tending to downtrodden immigrants in New York City, while clashing against the powerful in the Catholic Church and City Hall. In short, the new film Cabrini produced by Angel Studios and directed by Alejandro Gómez Monteverde — the same team behind last year’s surprisingly successful yet controversial Sound of Freedom — offers movie audiences a “girl...

It seems like everyone is talking these days about Rob Reiner’s hitjob movie against the religious right. It makes “Christian Nationalists” into the bogeyman. Although I travel in the circles of Christian conservatives, I have yet to meet anyone who has actually yet seen Reiner’s movie. But I have seen a trailer for it. The thesis of the movie is that “Christian Nationalists” are bad and are trying to take over the nation and turn it into something we were never intended to be. Commentator Heidi Przbyla of Politico even told a panel on MSNBC that anyone who...

We have become a nation of rude people. Does that matter? I actually think it does because there is a link between manners and morals. As a grandfather of three little children, it’s so important to teach them to engage in good manners, to be grateful. I even write thank you notes to local places we visit, such as our unique South Florida butterfly attraction or a local farm tour, and have them each write something on the thank you card. Manners do matter, and I’ll explain why in a moment. In our documentary for Providence Forum, “The Beginning of Wisdom” — which...

Recently a picture of the 2020 AWANA Grand Prix displayed on my TV screensaver. As I looked at the image and saw many familiar faces of people sitting close together and kids smiling and playing, I reflected on how this event was the last major event we had as a church before the world shut down in response to the COVID-19 virus. Little did we know during the Grand Prix how quickly and drastically everything was about to change. In what seemed like an instant in March 2020, the entire world changed. Curfews were enacted. Many stores and restaurants were closed. All sporting events were...

Rosy Ryan (Sarah Miles) is not happy, yet she has everything: a good husband, Charles Shaughnessy (Robert Mitchum) whom she had been pining for; enough money; and her health. However, as a woman fixated on pursuing sexual transcendence, she finds her marriage more than disappointing. Her drama, which is at the center of the 1970 epic film Ryan’s Daughter that recently aired on Turner Classic Movies (TCM), is all-consuming. Meanwhile, in this intimate story, British filmmaker David Lean — who helmed such classics such as Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962),...

Since we celebrated Presidents' Day recently, I thought it might be interesting to reflect on the faith of the first six men who held that office. Most of them were believers in Jesus and were not ashamed to say so. Several of these instances are not politically correct, but they are historically accurate. In 1779, ten years before he became the first president under the Constitution, George Washington was asked by Delaware Indian chiefs for advice on the education of three of their sons. Washington told them, “You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above...

In the 1980s, Pierce Brosnan — famous for playing James Bond — starred in an action-adventure show called Remington Steele. As a fan of Bond and film in general, yours truly has explored the franchise’s history: from watching the behind-the-scenes featurettes to the 2012 documentary Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007. In the latter, Brosnan talks about how Remington Steele was instrumental in landing the role of the famous British spy, but also, temporarily, kept him from wielding the Walther PPK until 1995’s Goldeneye. Anyone who knows me would probably...

In recent decades the quality of American education has plummeted. When you scan the headlines related to education, you realize how far we have fallen: A “non-binary” activist teacher promotes the woke agenda for kindergarteners and claims that the U.S. and Israel have “no right to exist.” Harvard, America’s oldest and most prestigious college (historically), now teaches a class on the pop singer Taylor Swift. Harvard’s tuition costs $75,000 a year. A Seattle high school teacher, who praised Hamas in class, failed a student on a quiz. Why? The student...

The blue lights and constant humming. The clammy warmth, the type of moist heat that comes from too many bodies in too small of a room. These are the sensations you will notice when you walk into a server farm, as I did, when I started work for a digital technology company.  It was May of 2016. At that time, it had been 34 years since Joseph Ratzinger, a prominent theologian of the 20th century, had written his article on security and technology titled, “Technological Security as a Problem of Social Ethics.” In that article, the future Pope Benedict XVI proposed that for...

Over the course of our study on God’s holiness, we have seen the significance of the Lord’s holiness when His creatures encounter Him, and the reverence and awe His holiness produces. We also have seen why His holiness has this effect upon us, because God is incomparable in His holiness, incorruptibly pure in His holiness, and holy in all His infinite perfections. God’s holiness has a certain and inevitable impact when He interacts with sinful people. God’s holiness results in His wrath on sinners who come to Him in their sins. However, God’s holiness does not...