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.

December 6, 2009

Christian Standard

Has Christianity Declined and Fallen (and Can”t Get Up)?

  by David A. Fiensy For its Easter edition in 1966, Time magazine”s cover asked, “Is God Dead?”1 We might wonder if similar motivations prompted Newsweek“s attention-grabbing Easter cover this year (April 13). It featured these words forming the shape of a cross: “The Decline and Fall of Christian America.” The occasion for this dire prophecy was the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey that found the number of Americans unaffiliated with any religious group rose from 8 percent to 15 percent since 1990.2 These figures even convinced some Christian leaders the sky was falling. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the

November 22, 2009

Christian Standard

Christians, Politics, & Ethical Speech

  by Thomas Scott Caulley When we were kids, my brothers and I argued a lot. Inevitably this degenerated into name-calling: “You dirt wad!” someone would yell. “Shut up, idiot,” was the likely response.  Our mother was tireless in her efforts to train such language out of our vocabulary. She quoted Scriptures to us. “Do unto others” and “Each counting others better than himself” were just the beginning of her repertoire, and were among the many Bible verses we boys memorized under Mom”s watchful tutelage. To this day, many Bible passages come to mind in outdated English, even though I

October 18, 2009

Christian Standard

Reflections of a Public Servant

  by Rod Roberts On July 21 I held a press conference at the Iowa State Capitol where I announced the creation of an exploratory committee to run for the office of governor. Since then I have made my candidacy official. The decision to run for governor came as the result of months of travel, meetings, conversations, and thoughtful deliberation. My family and many close friends were key in helping me make this decision. Many prayers were offered in the months leading up to my decision. I have been an extremely fortunate and blessed public servant for many years. My

October 14, 2009

Christian Standard

No Laughing Matter

By Mark A. Taylor Have you caught The Jay Leno Show, NBC”s new weeknight offering? It premiered September 14, a few days after this issue went to the printer, so this is no review of its content. But I couldn”t help thinking about the work the church does as I read about the work Leno did this summer to get ready for his new show. An August 21 Wall Street Journal piece pointed out that Leno”s move to 10 pm from 11:30 was a big risk for him as well as the network. Leno is trying something largely abandoned years

September 20, 2009

Christian Standard

Care for the Earth Is Bringing Good News to the Poor

  by Doug Priest A recent survey of evangelical Christians in America reveals that care for the environment is a top priority. (Others listed were sanctity of life, evangelism, poverty, and HIV/AIDS).1 There is an explosion of books by Christians on creation care. The subject is hot (perhaps due to global warming?). In January 2007, Wheaton College hosted the Creation Care Summit. A 2008 volume entitled Mission in the 21st Century identified one of the five marks of global mission as “Striving to Safeguard the Integrity of Creation and Sustaining and Renewing the Life of the Earth.”2 InterVarsity Press just released the

August 9, 2009

Christian Standard

A Revolution Is Coming Your Way

  by Jim Musser I recently visited with a 40-something Christian friend and mentioned that our campus ministry uses Facebook. Her blank expression told me she had no idea what Facebook was. Do you? What about MySpace? Twitter? YouTube? According to emarketer.com, these are some of the most popular Internet Web sites for college-age young people and they are sweeping the nation like wildfire. Unlike my friend, you probably have heard of these. But have you given much thought to the impact of the Internet on the mission of the church? From where I sit, on a college campus, I

August 5, 2009

Christian Standard

More Than Technology, and Not Boring at All

By Mark A. Taylor Troy McMahon walked into his local Starbucks June 18 and was surprised his friend, the barista, mentioned Troy”s recent trip to San Francisco. “How did you know about that?” Troy asked. “I”ve been following you on Facebook,” came the answer. The coffee server doesn”t attend Restore Community Church where Troy preaches””yet! But he”s one of many people the church planter reaches by using the sometimes maligned Internet social networking site Facebook. Paul Williams struck a responsive chord with his curmudgeonly critique of Facebook May 31. “On Facebook it seems all of life has been trivialized and

August 2, 2009

Christian Standard

Big C, little c: Building Bridges by Saying “˜Thank You”

by Ben Cachiaras One in four Americans calls himself Catholic. That”s 64 million people in this country””and an estimated billion people worldwide. There were lots of Roman Catholics in Minnesota, where I grew up. Many of my friends were Catholic. Some struck me as devout and genuinely committed to Christ, while others seemed halfhearted, as if they were going through obligatory religious motions. Then I discovered there were those same two kinds of folk in my own church. Later God moved my family and me to Maryland, and I have found a lot of Catholics here, too. In fact, Roman

August 2, 2009

Christian Standard

Barrier or Bridge to the Catholic Community?

  by Greg Nettle Where I grew up in northern Ohio, the predominant religion was Catholicism. As a result of not being a Catholic, I formed some very unhealthy approaches to my Catholic friends. Most involved arguments and confrontations about what was scripturally incorrect with the Catholic church. I would regularly discuss with my youth-group buddies topics such as: Is the pope the Antichrist? And, is it OK to date a Catholic girl so you can convert her to New Testament Christianity? In short, I was erecting a lot of relational barriers. Years later, after serving as a senior pastor

August 2, 2009

Christian Standard

Catholicism . . . It”s a Family Thing

by Toney Salva When I was ordained into ministry, my nonpracticing Roman Catholic father attempted to communicate to his side of the family what I was going to do with my life. He told them I was going to be a priest! That was the best he could do. It was the only word he could find to describe my career choice. Imagine my family”s surprise when I sent out wedding announcements . . . then birth announcements. My father”s struggle to communicate with his Catholic family about my ordination in the Christian church is not that different from the

August 2, 2009

Christian Standard

Walking with My Expatriate Catholic Friends

 by Don. M. Hamilton “I grew up Catholic so this is all new to me.” I”ve heard this statement, or ones like it, many times over the past 27 years. Capital Area Christian Church is in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area, where Catholicism is strong. A significant portion of our church family traces its spiritual roots to the Catholic church. Dozens from this background show up in our services and small groups. I”ve found these folks to be some of the most enjoyable and eager souls to walk through our doors. Having worked with so many from this faith background through

July 12, 2009

Christian Standard

China, Congress, and the Jericho Road

  By Paul E. Boatman   An official with access to the highest levels of government in the People”s Republic of China uttered these words: “We are very pleased with what Christians are doing in our land. We want to invite you to do more. We want to facilitate a more harmonious relationship between religion and our society.” Is this for real?   A REMARKABLE MEETING We sat in a Beijing hotel meeting room with a view of historic Tiananmen Square on May Day this year. The discussion participants included Mr. Zhen,* a high-ranking government official in charge of communications;

July 12, 2009

Christian Standard

The Point of Christianity 3: Christian Reconciliation

  By Douglas A. Foster Christ knew there would be trouble. He knew the human heart and its tendency toward pride. His intense prayer for his followers “that they may be one” was not a request for a good but optional addition to Christianity””unity was the very essence of it. The walls that separate humans were precisely what Christ came to destroy. Reconciliation is the point of Christianity! And reconciliation results in unity. Tragically, the very people Christ entrusted with his ministry of reconciliation built walls of separation. Christians destroyed the visible unity of Christ”s body. The spirit of division

June 3, 2009

Christian Standard

Interview with Stephanie Brown Trafton

By Brad Dupray Stephanie Brown Trafton made her second U.S. Olympic Team in 2008 and in Beijing, China, became the first American woman since 1932 to win a gold medal in the discus. For her Olympic effort, Stephanie received the Jesse Owens Award, USA Track & Field”s highest accolade as the outstanding track and field performer for 2008. The post-Olympic road show has taken Stephanie to places like the White House, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the mobile home park where she grew up in Oceano, California. Stephanie and her husband, Jerry, are members of Family Life Christian Church in

May 20, 2009

Christian Standard

More Than Talk About Unity

By Mark A. Taylor Most biblical ideals are easier to talk about than to practice. I may be able to quote Bible verses about love or patience or forgiveness or grace. But just let the neighbor”s dog wake me with its barking or my coworker across the aisle talk too loud on the phone, and let”s see how I express those virtues! Perhaps no value is easier to promote and also more difficult to experience than unity. Whenever I”m called upon to explain the Restoration Movement to someone who doesn”t know us, I”m faced with this reality. Soon into my

May 17, 2009

Christian Standard

The Point of Christianity 2: Racial Reconciliation

  By Douglas A. Foster Racial division continues in Christ”s body””despite the shedding of his blood. To state it plainly, there is a deep and abiding divide between white people and people of color, in society and in Christ”s church.  Events in our national and religious history seared racial suspicion deep into our subconscious. Two events serve as illustrations of the evil of racism in its most blatant form.   BAD DECISIONS In 1857 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (in Dred Scott v. Sandford) that the slave Dred Scott remained a slave even when taken into a “free” state. The

May 10, 2009

Christian Standard

A Christian Civics Lesson

  By Rod Roberts On January 9, 2007, the newly elected speaker of the Iowa House gaveled the 82nd General Assembly into session. True to the traditions of the Iowa House, the speaker invited a special guest pastor to bring the invocation that morning. To the surprise of many, the guest invited to pray for the General Assembly was a Des Moines-area Muslim imam. The gesture was, in part, recognition of the election of Iowa”s first Muslim state legislator, who was from Des Moines. In fact, the state Capitol in Des Moines is located in this legislator”s district. The imam

March 8, 2009

Christian Standard

A Capitol Idea of Serving Others

By Rod Roberts I was first elected to the Iowa House of Representatives on November 7, 2000. Since that first election victory I have had the good fortune to run opposed in four subsequent re-election campaigns. At the conclusion of this current term I will have served 10 years in the Iowa House. There are 100 members who comprise the Iowa House of Representatives. A five-term member like myself is a legislator who has seniority among his peers. In addition to seniority, I am a leader within the House Republican caucus. In any state Legislature, seniority and position matter a

February 1, 2009

Christian Standard

War . . . What Is It Good For? (Part 1)

By Karen J. Diefendorf   Maybe you remember the protest song from a generation ago, “War (What Is It Good For?).” The answer, of course, was . . . “absolutely nothin”!” I would debate that, as would many other veterans and citizens. The song points out many horrors of war, while assuming there are no horrors in “peace at any price.” No one longs for peace and the absence of war more than the men and women serving in the armed forces””the people who fight the wars. In my years in the military, I never knew any military leader who

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