The Christian Right got involved in politics late. In fact, they got dragged into the process kicking and screaming. For decades they were told that “religion and politics don’t mix” and “we should only preach the gospel.” That worked at a time when there was something of a general Christian consensus. But those days were long gone by the 1970s with the Roe v. Wade pro-abortion decision that turne [...]

Gary discusses the economic and the biological differences between men’s and women’s sports. Christian apologetics begins by establishing an authoritative starting point. Like Archimedes (287?–212 B.C.), who once boasted that given the proper lever and a place to stand, he could “move the earth,” the Christian apologist seeks to base his defense on a secure foundation to move the heart [...]

Now that the eclipse has come and gone, prophecy speculators have refocused their attention on the Middle East. There is no need to speculate beyond the historical boundaries of Ezekiel’s day to force the names of these ancient nations to find a place on a modern-day map to conform them to today’s geo-political landscape. Iain Duguid’s comments are helpful in accounting for the historical realitie [...]

In this episode, Gary discusses recent health issues, as well as giving a few hints and tips about getting and staying in physical shape. For nearly 2000 years the church has believed in the life-transforming power of the gospel, the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, the sufficiency of Scripture as “an Instruction Book on how to live,” the Sovereignty and Providence of God in time and in hist [...]

Gary discusses recent logic being dropped regarding abortion on the daytime TV show, The View, by resident theologian Whoppi Goldberg. Secularists says human life is expendable if the cause is good enough. Who defines “good enough”? We kill animals for food. Man is only a highly evolved animal. Therefore man can be killed for any number of “socially acceptable reasons”: over-population, high medic [...]

Gary discusses tactics of Christian resistance that can be learned from Saul Alinsky. When students graduated from the Academy in Geneva, they were assigned various posts, sometimes in France. These were dangerous trips; so dangerous that when the permanent ministers of Geneva went to France they left their families behind, and the city allowed those families to keep the ministerial house and even [...]

The passing of Ronald Sider in 2022 presented an opportunity for Gary to tell the sad history of Christian socialism in America. The mark of a Christian movement is its willingness to submit to the demands of Scripture. Not, mind you, merely to “principles” abstracted from their context and loaded with new content; but rather the actual, concrete, explicit statements of God’s wor [...]

Gary responds to a recent post by Dr. Michael Brown on “replacement theology.” Dr. Brown (and most evangelicals with him) are under the impression that God still has promises to fulfill to Israel. The temple was a constant reminder that a wall separated Jew from Gentile. In Christ, the wall was removed (Eph. 2:11–22). There is no longer any need for the blood of “bulls and goats” (Heb. [...]

Gary responds to a recent article that discusses Matthew 24:22. The majority of today’s prophecy writers see today’s “wars and rumors of wars” as clear evidence that we are living in the last days. A study of the period before Jerusalem’s destruction in A.D. 70 tells a different story. The Roman historian Tacitus (A.D. 56–117) writes in his history of the period that there were “disturbances in Ge [...]

Gary continues his talk about teaching history and how to make it relevant and interesting. Probably the most famous product placement story is how Reeses Pieces got an advertising boost from a loveable alien. “Stephen Spielberg asked the makers of M&Ms if they would grant him permission to use their product in the 1982 film E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, but was turned down. Spielberg then turne [...]

In a talk from a few years back, Gary discusses how to teach history so that it’s relevant, memorable, and applicable. Much of what we remember sticks in our mind because of repetition. That’s how we learned to speak, read, and write. Learning to ride a bicycle, drive a car, play a musical instrument, or learn a sport came by way of repetition. We struggled when we first got on a bicycle, bu [...]

Gary discusses the claim that the end times are finally upon us because three eclipse paths are writing Hebrew letters across the United States. During World War II biblical references to falling heavenly bodies were thought to be bombs dropping on the cities of Europe. Supposedly there was even a Russian postage stamp to support the interpretation. The stamp showed apocalyptic symbols—lightning a [...]

In his final response to “eclipse fever,” Gary discusses the importance of using the Bible to interpret itself, rather than eclipse patterns and town names and a few scattered verses that seem to affirm the modern interpretation. It is because the heavenly bodies show God’s glory that we delight in looking at beautiful pictures of them in astronomy books. We live in a happy age, [...]

Gary continues his response to a video promoting “eclipse mania” about the April 8 event. Archaeological, biological, astronomical, and geological evidences do not speak except to inform us that all we see are not accidents that materialized out of the void of nothingness. The Psalmist tells us, “The heavens tell of the glory of God; and their expanse declares the work of His hands” (P [...]

Gary discusses the history of speculation and the baseless theories of those saying they interpret the Bible “literally.” What’s true of sun, moon, and stars, representing the nation of Israel, is also true of “the powers of the heavens [that] will be shaken.” With this type of language, “God is redrawing the map of world politics, and the familiar structures of international affairs w [...]

Gary discusses why the United States is NOT a democracy, despite how many politicians and reporters say it is. Most Americans are under the false impression that our system of constitutional government is a democracy. To be sure, there are certainly democratic elements present. The First Amendment to the Constitution states, “The people” have the right “to petition the Government [...]

Gary discusses statements made by Texas state representative James Talarico, who claims to be a Christian and recently said a number of things publicly that actually pit the Bible against itself. Many Americans might be surprised to learn that the Supreme Court building has a number of depictions of the Ten Commandments and other lawgivers prominently displayed, some of which are carved in stone, [...]

Gary concludes his talk about Christian involvement in culture and politics by summarizing several popular objections. Pastor and author John Piper uses Hebrews 13:14, 1 Peter 2:11, and Philippians 3:20 in an attempt to dispel the idea that Christians can have a lasting impact on this world. He writes that Christians “exert influence as happy, brokenhearted outsiders” who should only count on havi [...]

Gary continues his talk about worldviews and Christian involvement. During the French Revolution, Christianity was deliberately being erased by political elitists, but this did not mean that religion itself would be banished. The vacuum was filled with a new god. The French “proclaimed the goddess of Reason in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and in other churches in France… In Paris, the godd [...]

In this first part of a recent talk, Gary discusses the worldview implications of Bible prophecy. Biblical Christianity has always been historical. The early creeds of the Church are simply recitals of the history of Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection. These all occurred on earth, in history (Luke 1:1–4; 2:1–2; 3:1–2). It would be more than strange if the King had come to earth, died on earth, [...]