It is crucial that Christians learn their roles as citizens and what they can do to produce meaningful change. Gary reviews the call Christians have in Scripture to cultivate a biblical culture around them — including in civil government. Politics may be dirty, but politics can be cleaned up and should be cleaned up by heavenly citizens. [...]

![“ArtIm:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20100104.jpg" ““ArtIm:”) Brooke Allen claims in her article “Our Godless Constitution” that America “was founded not on Christian principles but on Enlightenment ones.”[1] The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a period in eighteenth-century Europe and America when reason, coupled with advances in sci [...]

Does the Church need protection from society? Should Catholics, evangelicals, and non-believers join forces to defend moral absolutes? How should Christians engage the world? Gary addresses the Manhattan Declaration and what religious leaders debate is the jurisdiction of The Church and the manner in which Christians should engage positive values in society. [...]

![“ArtIm:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20091123.jpg" ““ArtIm:”) It’s hard living in the shadow of a famous father. Some sons have done well (John Quincy Adams), while other sons have done very badly (Joe DiMaggio, Jr.). Hank Williams, Jr. was typecast as a “Hank Williams clone” of his famous father. His mother promoted him as “a Hank Williams im [...]

![“ArtIm:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20091110.jpg" ““ArtIm:”) Alexis de Tocqueville was a keen observer of American society. Writing from the perspective of the 1830s, the French author concluded that the exceptional virtue, moral fiber, and self‑restraint shown by Americans were due to the extraordinary influence of the Christian faith in thi [...]

![“ArtIm:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20091027.jpg" ““ArtIm:”) Being “spiritual” does not mean “made up of spirit.” “Spirit” is not a ghost-like substance that inhabits the truly “spiritual Christian.” The adjective, as in “spiritual man” and “spiritual body,” does not mean ethereal, incorporeal, immaterial, otherworldly, or even unworldly as d [...]

![“ArtIm:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20091026.jpg" ““ArtIm:”) First-century believers could have offered tangible evidence that there was little chance for the gospel to have an impact on the status quo of religious and civil oppression in their day. How could a small band of men—led by a fisherman (Peter) and a tentmaker (Paul)—living under R [...]

![“ArtIm:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20090831-without-god-there-is-no-law.jpg" ““ArtIm:”) Before Jeff Foxworthy made a fortune telling redneck Jokes, Jerry Clower had developed his own brand of Southern humor. Born and raised in Liberty, Mississippi, Clower had a talent telling stories that went a long way to help him sell seed and fertilizer. [...]

![“ArtIm:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20090711-founding-fathers-nature-of-man-sin-nature-depravity-of-man.jpg" ““ArtIm:”) “He who refuses to rule is liable to be ruled by one who is worse than himself.” —Plato’s Republic The works of C. S. Lewis always seem to be undergoing a renaissance. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has made it to the [...]

![“Artim:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20090803-gnostic-christians-gnosticism-worldy-carnal-spiritual-god-man-wisdom-knowledge-bible.jpg" ““Artim:”) Not long ago, I received an email from a woman who asked me if I could direct her to some information that refutes Gnosticism. She wrote that a friend of hers “ claims to be on an extraordinarily in [...]

![“ArtIm:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20090728-culture-christian-religion-church-society-humanism.jpg" ““ArtIm:”) There are numerous Christians who believe that a personal, private faith is all the gospel requires. Os Guinness described this as “The Private-Zoo Factor,”[1] a religion that is caged so that it loses its wildness. When true Christ [...]

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-2009jun02.jpg" ““Article”) Paul Hill, convicted of murdering abortionist John Britton and his bodyguard in 1994, considered himself to be a twentieth-century John Brown. Brown, if you recall, was the self-appointed avenger of God who was fond of quoting Hebrews 9:22: “All things are by the law purg [...]

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-2009may11.jpg" ““Article”) I received a lengthy response to my May 4, 2009 Blog article, “Penguins, Dog Vomit, and Human Sexuality.” Instead of the usual name-calling, foul language, unprintable comments, and just plain vileness, the emailer’s response was measured and thoughtful. I suspect that ma [...]

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-2009may04.jpg" ““Article”) “It can’t happen here!” How many times have we heard this claim? But it can happen here. Many will tell you that it is happening here. It seems that almost on a daily basis we are losing our God-given rights. Some even make the case that there is a direct assault on the C [...]

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-2009mar25.jpg" ““Article”) For a few months now I have been working with a group of producers in the development of the film Collision: Is Christianity Good for the World (Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson). This is one of the most unique debate presentations I have ever seen. While I have pa [...]

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-2009mar24.jpg" ““Article”) There is no doubt that Francis A. Schaeffer broadened the appeal for biblical world-and-life view Christianity with his popular writing style and activist philosophy. Schaeffer’s popularity was extensive enough that he was recognized by the secular media as the “Guru of F [...]

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-2009mar23.jpg" ““Article”) “Calvinism is back,” so says David Van Biema in the March 22, 2009 issue of Time magazine. Calvinism is listed as one of “10 ideas changing the world Right now.” It’s third on the list. When most people hear the word “Calvinism,” they bite down only on the gristle of pred [...]

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-031609.jpg" ““Article”) You may have read that “the latest American Religious Identification Survey shows that the number of those who believe in no religion at all has almost doubled in the last 18 years, rising from 8 percent to 15 percent since 1990.”1 Then there’s the article that appeared on t [...]

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-031009.jpg" ““Article”) Worldview conferences are springing up all over. This is a good thing. We’ve moved from Immanuel Kant’s philosophically formulated _Weltanschauung_1 to James Orr’s “view of the world”2 to Abraham Kuyper’s “life-system” to the Dutch Reformed “World-and-Life-View” to simply Wo [...]

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-030909.jpg" ““Article”) R.C. Sproul writes that “God’s existence is the chief element in constructing any worldview. To deny this chief premise is to set one’s sails for the island of nihilism. This is the darkest continent of the darkened mind—the ultimate paradise of the fool.”1 Arguing with peop [...]