Culture & Public Square

Culture & Public Square helps Christians think biblically about life in society and engage today’s issues with conviction and compassion. Explore articles on current events, ethics, justice, race, technology, public life, and cultural trends—grounded in Scripture and shaped by Christian wisdom. You’ll find guidance for faithful witness, thoughtful dialogue, and making disciples in a complex world, while keeping the gospel at the center. Whether you’re navigating challenging conversations or seeking clarity for ministry and daily life, these resources equip you to live and speak with grace and truth in the public square.

February 17, 2012

Christian Standard

The Candidates and Causes We Worship

By Mark A. Taylor In her post this week, Eleanor Daniel offers one warning as we face the claims and counter claims leading up to another U.S. national election: Look carefully for the truth instead of believing the latest rumor or accusation. In his powerful little book Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller suggests another: Be sure you avoid the error of some people who have turned politics into an idol. Keller”s thesis is that even good things become counterfeit gods when we look to them for the fulfillment, security, salvation, or hope that can come only from God. He speaks incisively

February 16, 2012

Christian Standard

Speak the Truth””Even on the Internet

By Eleanor Daniel I have a confession to make. Some days I wonder why I even bother to teach the Word of God to others. I”m not sure they take it in very seriously. I”m not talking about teaching the Word to unbelievers. It often takes a long time and a lot of effort for them to come to belief in the Lord and to submit to him. Rather, I”m talking about good people who have been Christians for a long time and who, by all expectations, should demonstrate markedly different behavior than nonbelievers. Nor am I talking about gross

February 2, 2012

Christian Standard

Sherman Interviews President Bush

By Jennifer Taylor   After former President George W. Bush spoke at the Real Choices Pregnancy Center Banquet Nov. 17 at the Irving (TX) Convention Center, he sat down for an onstage interview with Drew Sherman, lead pastor of Compass Christian Church (Colleyville, TX). The candid conversation covered such topics as the presidential experience, post-presidency life, 9/11, faith, and much more. There were serious and somber moments, but also many instances when the former president showed off his good humor. Thousands of people attended the banquet to benefit Real Choices. Sherman asked Bush about the day of the 9/11 attacks.

January 9, 2012

Christian Standard

In Just One Year: I Pray I’m Wrong

Nothing challenges us to think about changing times more than the transition from one year to the next. On this first day of 2012, we asked six Christian leaders to think about the church a year from now and to draw a picture of our progress””and our problems””then.  * * * By Rob Kastens While I pray that I am wrong, my sense is that as the year 2012 draws to a close in the United States, we will be increasingly aware that God”s marvelous church is losing sight of her prime purpose of knowing him, growing in him, and

January 2, 2012

Christian Standard

The First Step Toward Unity

By Mark A. Taylor Christian unity, like so many other grand doctrines of the Bible, is something none of us would repudiate. Just as all of us are for love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control””just as all of us would lift up the ideas of mercy, grace, or forgiveness””all of us, if asked, would agree we”re for unity. But deciding to discuss unity is something else. When I talk about unity, my notions of it are challenged. I must sit across the table from a fellow believer who disagrees with me and yet acknowledge that I want unity with him.

December 26, 2011

Christian Standard

The Bible vs. Culture: What Shapes Our Christianity?

By Karen Rees I almost got into an argument at a Christmas party. The party was an activity of a local Evangelical women”s Bible study. The group includes women from a number of different, mostly Asian, countries. On this particular occasion we had a visiting woman speaker fresh from the United States. She had a good talk, but her Scripture application was from an American worldview. I was the only other American there. In the discussion time, I said that different cultures emphasize the verses that best match their cultural values. As an example, I mentioned that, with regard to

December 15, 2011

Christian Standard

The New Old: Are We Ignoring One of America”s Largest Generations?

By Amy Hanson Question: What do NPR, USA Today, Chico”s clothing store, CVS pharmacy, Whole Foods Market, CNN, and the Obama administration all have in common? Answer: They are all investing significant amounts of time, money, and research into one of the biggest demographic shifts ever to occur in America””the aging population. Specifically, these entities, as well as hundreds of others, are studying baby boomers and the impact this huge group will have on society. The baby boom generation (whom I like to refer to as “the new old”) includes 78 million people born between 1946 and 1964. Pew Research

December 6, 2011

Christian Standard

Big Dent””A Personal Touch to Lessening Poverty

By Janet C. Smith Microfinance is the latest new tool Christians can use to share the old, old story. CMF International”s new BigDent.org website has made it simple, easy, and fun to do. Christian Missionary Fellowship, a 62-year-old mission agency in Indianapolis, Indiana, has worked in Nairobi, Kenya, for many years. Executive Director Doug Priest and his staff believe there are many Christians who are interested in providing a microfinance loan within a faith-based framework to aspiring entrepreneurs in an impoverished community. CMF now has the tools for small gifts to make a “big dent” in poverty. BigDent.org went live

December 5, 2011

Christian Standard

The Poor You Will Always Have with You . . .

By Doug Priest “I am married and have four children. I received a loan of $400 to start a business making jewelry and shoes. With the money, I purchased a sewing machine, the raw materials needed, and paid the rent for my business house. I have since been able to employ part-time workers.” “”Moses, a slum dweller In Matthew”s account of the anointing of Jesus by Mary of Bethany, he quoted Jesus as saying, “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me” (Matthew 26:11). Mark, who also wrote about this event in his

November 19, 2011

Christian Standard

Vinyl Records Have Made a Comeback

By Josh Tandy The big black discs you put on a turntable and place a needle on to play are suddenly cool again. Maybe you”ve seen them only at Goodwill or garage sales. Maybe you were holding on to your collection and your mom sold it while you were at college, but vinyl is in. LP lovers seem to always talk about the full sound that is absent in digital formats. Or they rave about the album experience, hearing the entire piece as the artist intended. Digital music available on iTunes is popular because of the vast selection, near-perfect quality,

November 7, 2011

Christian Standard

Negatives We Can”t Ignore

By Mark A. Taylor A quick skim of the newspaper on a Friday in September reminds me of other correspondence I had seen earlier in the week. “¢ A Wall Street Journal report quotes the Pope who warned against increasing apathy toward religion in Germany. “We are witnessing a growing indifference to religion in society,” he said in Berlin. “¢ A column appearing a few pages later chronicles and decries efforts of the Obama administration to promote sermonizing by rabbis on such topics as the President”s jobs bill, the impact of budget cuts on the poor, and the country”s need

November 5, 2011

Christian Standard

Christians Should Care about Collective Bargaining

By Troy Jackson Church leaders have taught us to be very cautious addressing political issues. We have heard about the errors of Constantine, who wedded Christianity and the Roman Empire. We are also justly concerned about the co-opting of the church by politicians and political parties. Over the past few years, however, I”ve been alarmed by the fallout of congregations attempting to completely avoid political discussions. My concern is rooted in the task of church leadership as described by Paul, “to equip his people for works of service” and to help the church to “become mature, attaining to the whole

October 12, 2011

Christian Standard

Remember the Children

By Mark A. Taylor “Whenever two people are together, one is influencing the other.” My adult children tell me today this was one of my favorite reminders years ago whenever they left the house to be with their teenage friends. I”ve thought about my little proverb often since then, especially as Christian Standard has taken up issues of church and culture. How is the church today influencing the values of our culture? And how are the attitudes and ideals of today”s educators, politicians, entertainers, and corporate leaders changing the church? Research seems to say the church is not prevailing. George

September 23, 2011

Christian Standard

Reconsidering Politics, Revisiting Columbine, and Rediscovering Fun

By LeRoy Lawson The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America Jim Wallis New York: HarperOne, 2008 Columbine Dave Cullen New York: Twelve (e-book), 2009 Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul Stuart Brown, MD New York: Penguin Group, 2009 I didn”t read Jim Wallis”s The Great Awakening when it came out in 2008. My “must-read” stack was pretty high then, so I opted to skip the Sojourners founder”s sequel to God”s Politics, his opinion of””and this is the book”s subtitle””Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn”t Get It.

September 8, 2011

Christian Standard

What’s Different Now?

By Darrel Rowland In some ways it seems everything has changed. But some observers say reaction to 9/11 has been only a blip amid trends that began even before the tragedy. Flying is a hassle. We know what IED stands for. Osama is dead. Saddam, too. And so are almost 10,000 Americans. We”ve learned about Kabul and Fallujah the way previous generations found out about Iwo Jima, Panmunjom, and Pleiku. Scars in our largest city, our capital, a Pennsylvania field. Scars on our psyches, our souls, our kids. A bold president with a bullhorn promising justice. Members of Congress from

September 5, 2011

Christian Standard

Cease-Fire: Rethinking the Culture Wars

By Kelly Boyd The alignment of Christians with political conservatism is a recent phenomenon rarely questioned these days. Conservatism, it seems, simply is understood as the biblical position, but the results have been mixed at best, from a cultural standpoint. In fact, it can be predicted with confidence that gay marriage will be legal in all 50 states in our lifetime. How can this be, when Paul says, “If God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31)? I propose that it”s time for a cease-fire in the culture war and a closer examination of the church”s calling

September 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Some Churches Might Qualify for Tax Refunds

By Jennifer Taylor Tom Burbrink believes tens of thousands of dollars in tax refunds are available to churches””maybe even yours! Burbrink, a tax professional specializing in service to churches and ministers, has researched the issue in light of changes made by the Affordable Care Act. The act provides federal tax refunds to small employers, and many churches and church organizations are eligible even though they pay no income taxes. To qualify for the refund, a church must have a group medical insurance plan, must pay at least 50 percent of the premium, and must offer the plan to all full-time

August 21, 2011

Christian Standard

A Clear Choice in a Coarse Culture

By Mark A. Taylor How do God”s people live in an ungodly world? The answer we”ve repeated most often usually includes the formula, “In the world, but not of the world.” Not as often have we enunciated specific guidelines for how to know whether the church is influencing culture more than culture is influencing the church. Perhaps there was a day when the issue wasn”t as critical as now. Some of us remember a time when the messages of our culture seemed to reflect biblical values. People didn”t swear or shack up on television. Unwed mothers and gay activists weren”t

August 2, 2011

Christian Standard

What Does God Say About Race?

By Brian Jennings “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). We usually focus on the second truth in that sentence, but it”s healthy to remember the first: “People look at the outward appearance.” Not only in Samuel”s time, but in all the years since then, people have been looking at the outward appearance. While we”ve come a long way, still today we struggle. My wife and I have two boys. In July 2009, we had the blessing of adopting our first daughter, Shurabe, who is from Ethiopia. Four months later, my

April 22, 2011

Christian Standard

¿Hablas Espanol?

By Kent E. Fillinger The odds are good that the face of your neighborhood has changed in the last decade, regardless of where you live, because “between 2000 and 2007 alone, the number of Hispanics grew in 2,991 of America”s 3,141 counties.”1 A recent Pew Research study said that “using 2009 population estimates from the American Community Survey, Hispanics accounted for 51 percent of the nation”s population growth since the 2000 Census. From 2000 to 2010, the nation”s population grew 9.7 percent. From 2000 to 2009 (the last year available), the Hispanic population grew 37 percent.”2 Another study said by

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