Social Concerns Archives

May 21, 2022May 20, 2022

Moral Implications of Sex Change

A moral issue facing teenagers in America today is whether to change their birth sex. Some young people claim that their gender is misapplied. In other words, some girls claim they are actually boys, and some boys claim they are girls. In addition to legal and relational issues, there are also moral implications of sex change.

Medical procedures are now available using drugs and surgery to implement the sex change some feel they should have. The cause of these feelings is highly complex and may involve environmental factors, social pressure, identity issues, the breakdown of the nuclear family, or just a social fad.

The trend has become very complicated on many levels. One area affected is sports competition which began with sex-changed Russian athletes who seemed to have an advantage in certain sports. In the legal area, parents of girls have brought court cases claiming they have been denied scholarships and awards because a transgender athlete had the body of a male. There are also cases where the sex of a child was changed without the parents’ permission or knowledge.

The Bible clearly spells out God’s design of male and female. To change the sex of a child with surgery, puberty blockers, and hormones means they will need a constant regimen of drugs for the remainder of their life. While court cases are swirling, many in the medical profession are concerned because the long-term effect is unknown. For that reason, Alabama and Arkansas have passed laws making it a crime to administer or prescribe these procedures and drugs to a child under the age of 19.

We have laws to protect people, such as requiring the use of seat belts, but the question of where human rights begin and end is often not very clear. We sympathize with parents and children who are struggling with this issue. Unfortunately, the implications are often not spelled out in advance, and the moral implications of sex change are large.

Reference: Wire Reports for May 10, 2022, in the South Bend Tribune on that date (page 8A).

May 17, 2022May 16, 2022

Alcohol Is a More Destructive Drug

The media and medical profession pay a great deal of attention to the damaging effects of methamphetamine, cocaine, and opioids, but alcohol is a more destructive drug. In 2019, alcohol directly caused the deaths of almost 79,000 people in the United States from illnesses and car crashes. In 2020, the first full year of the COVID pandemic, more than 99,000 people under age 65 died directly from the use of alcohol. That was a 25.5% increase and more lives than COVID claimed that year for those under 65.

There is a widespread belief among many college students that you can’t have fun unless you drink. At the University of Notre Dame, Ted Mandell teaches a class called “Drunk on Film.” The subtitle of the course is “The Psychology of Storytelling with Alcohol and Its Effects on Alcohol Consumption.” Using film clips from movies and alcohol commercials, he helps students understand the problems with drinking and how advertisers and filmmakers seduce them into thinking that excessive alcohol consumption is normal and desirable.

One film that Mandell uses is a 20-minute clip from a documentary by Sut Jhally titled “Advertising at the Edge of Apocalypse.” It shows how alcohol advertising weds drinking to the sports industry and portrays alcohol as an alluring lifestyle. You would think that bright college students could see the indoctrination by the alcohol industry and its role in destructive sex and health issues. However, that is simply not the case. Stress is a part of the problem students face, but peer pressure is a more powerful motivator to drink.

From a Christian perspective, if you believe that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16) and should be cared for both physically and mentally, that should lead you to avoid alcohol. Seeing the results for people who drink alcohol and use other recreational drugs should be a motivator to avoid them. Our culture condemns the use of meth and crack but sanctions the use of alcohol and marijuana. Looking at the evidence should convince thinking people that alcohol is a more destructive drug.

References: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported in The Week, April 8, 2022, and “Under the Influence” in Notre Dame Magazine, spring 2022.

April 28, 2022April 26, 2022

One Daily Drink Can Shrink Your Brain

A new study in the U.K. shows that even light alcohol consumption harms the human brain. The study involved more than 36,000 participants between 40 and 69. The conclusion was that as little as one daily drink can shrink your brain.

Many studies have shown that drinking alcohol has long-term effects on cardiovascular and brain function. Chronic excessive alcohol consumption contributes to health problems such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, accelerated aging, and malnutrition. However, some earlier studies suggested that limited alcohol consumption might benefit your health. The researchers involved in this study wanted to determine the effect of small to moderate alcohol consumption. The results were surprising.

The 36,678 participants reported their alcohol consumption, and the researchers performed an MRI scan on their brains. Researchers grouped the subjects by average daily intake of one, two, or three or more alcohol units–or none. A unit was about eight ounces of beer or three ounces of wine. The researchers adjusted for age, genetic ancestry, and sex.

Those who consumed even one alcohol unit per day showed noticeable differences in the brain structure, especially in the brain stem, putamen, and amygdala. Those areas regulate heart rate, breathing, learning, motor control, and processing of emotions. The regions of white and gray matter in the brain shrank exponentially with increased alcohol consumption. The brain’s gray matter is that area that processes information, and the white matter enables communication between gray matter regions. One daily drink can shrink your brain, leading to decreased cognitive ability.

The more units of alcohol consumed, the more significant were the differences compared to those who drank no alcohol. For example, for people who reported drinking three alcoholic units per day, their brains appeared to be 3.5 years older than those who drank none. For those who drank four units, their brains aged by ten years.

Interestingly, the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends that men limit their consumption to two drinks per day. This study shows that one daily drink can shrink your brain. So the bottom line is that if you want your brain to stay young longer, avoid drinking alcohol altogether.

You can read the complete study with charts on Nature Communications at THIS LINK.

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022

Seniors Using Alcohol – Health Effects

We tend to think that drinking and the effects of alcohol are a problem for young people and middle-aged adults. There is no question that alcohol is the most destructive drug in today’s world. However, the view that young people need to avoid distilled alcoholic drinks but it is okay for seniors is dead wrong. We see much pain and suffering in our world today from different sources, but there is no reason for seniors using alcohol and adding to the problems that come with age.

Starting at about age 50, the average adult loses muscle, gains fat, and carries less water in the bloodstream. That means that seniors using alcohol may be more affected because it is less diluted than in younger people. In addition, the stomach and liver don’t produce as much of the enzyme called ADH, which processes alcohol. As a result, a person may not be aware that the alcohol content in their body is higher than in the past, and they may not realize the damaging effects. Our ability to perceive the effects of alcohol also diminishes after age 50, so we may ignore changes in vision, balance, and hearing caused by alcohol.

For seniors using alcohol, the aging process can be accelerated because it pulls water from your body. It also causes the shrinking of the brain, especially the cortex, which controls our executive function. In addition, Dr. George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, says that over 200 medical conditions are made worse by the consumption of alcohol. These include but are not limited to cancer, immune system disorders, liver problems, stroke, and diabetes.

There is a lot of literature blaming God for the age-related disabilities inflicting our world. While not drinking at all doesn’t guarantee a person won’t have health issues, a very high percentage of age-related diseases are impacted by the abuse we tend to heap on our bodies. That abuse includes not only alcohol but recreational drugs and nicotine. For Christians, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16), and we need to take care of that temple. Learning how to do that is vital for all of us.

Reference: AARP Bulletin for March 2022, pages 18-19.

March 16, 2022March 15, 2022

End-Times Religion, Ukraine, and Jesus

Any rational human being has to be horrified by the tragic acts of Vladimir Putin as he orchestrates a military attack on innocent people. As Putin directs the killing of babies, he is also causing incredible loss of resources needed for the peace and well-being of millions of people. This is the act of a madman drunk with power and in total rejection of God. In America, we are disheartened by teachers of end-times religion. Those people are supposed to be Christian leaders, but they are showing incredible ignorance of the teachings of Jesus.

End-times religion is based on the doctrine of dispensationalism. One of the best known of these leaders is Pat Robertson. He claims that Putin “is being compelled by God to invade Ukraine, but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel.” Robertson attempts to base his claim on his interpretation of Old Testament prophesy.

Robertson is just one of several end-times religion preachers who misinterpret prophesy and fail to understand what the Kingdom of Christ is all about. It is “Christian Zionism,” which promotes the idea that Jesus is going to return in something called the “rapture” to take his people away. The doctrine says that He will return to conduct a war against Arab countries, Russia, China, and Iran. Then He will establish Israel as the one world power with Jerusalem as the world’s capital and Jesus as the supreme king. This teaching is destructive, and it opposes the Bible on every turn.

The word “rapture” comes from the Latin “raptus,” which is the translation of the Greek word “harpazo,” meaning to be caught up or caught away. We find “harpazo” used in Acts 8:39, 2 Corinthians 12:2, and Revelation 12:5. Christian Zionists misuse Matthew 24:39-41; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 as references to back up their teaching. There are several versions of this teaching, but they are all in contradiction to the words of Jesus, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).

The biblical picture of Christ’s second coming is not political, nationalistic, or geographic. Second Peter 3:10-12 indicates the entire physical universe will be annihilated. Revelation 20:1 and 21:1 tell us that the cosmos and Earth will vanish. This material world will be dissolved, and all the ills that go with it will be gone.

End-times religion conveys a discouraging false promise. None of us wants more war, pain, politics, hate, racism, pollution, or tears. The invasion of Ukraine is the result of atheism, greed, power struggles, and materialism conducted by a madman. It is not endorsed by God, and it opposes all that Jesus taught. Jesus weeps with us at the pain inflicted by Satan’s agents as they show that they are without compassion or empathy.

March 14, 2022March 13, 2022

Lawlessness and Theft

A pandemic of lawlessness and theft is gripping our planet, and recently I had a personal experience with it. My wife and I were doing laundry for a needy family at a laundromat in our community. As we waited for the machine to finish a load of clothes, my wife laid her purse down, and someone stole it. The thief was careful to remove her cell phone and scrub her contact information. We notified the police immediately and canceled all of our credit cards. The police told us that this was becoming a significant problem. They said the thief was obviously experienced at grabbing women’s purses and running because they removed any possibility of tracing their location.

The next day, I took our car in for some service. My mechanic said I should not leave the car in the parking space near the service area because of lawlessness and theft. Thieves had become efficient in stripping the catalytic converters and drilling holes in the fuel tanks to drain and steal the gasoline. Another major problem we all face today is identity theft. In professional fields, research scientists, authors, and songwriters must hire legal protection organizations to avoid losing the rights to their creative work.

Lawlessness and theft are not new problems, but their magnitude and acceptance as part of everyday life are new. Eighty years ago, people considered it a breach of morality and civilized behavior to be caught shoplifting or stealing from someone’s home or business. In today’s world, stores must set their prices to cover losses to shoplifting, while many consider theft a survival tool. We have seen cases of parents teaching their children how to steal from stores.

The justification for this pandemic of lawlessness and theft is rooted in evolutionary assumptions. Some people suggest that survival of the fittest is the operating principle for life. Animals steal food, territory, and mates, so if humans are merely animals, why not use the same survival techniques as other animals? Saying we live in a “dog eat dog” world implies that the behavior we see in dogs is an acceptable survival method for humans.

God gave humans a unique identification separating us from the animal world. One of the Old Testament laws was “thou shalt not steal.” God would judge harshly those who engaged in any kind of stealing. (See Exodus 20:15 and referenced in Romans 13:9.) In the New Testament, honesty and respecting the rights and security of others were part of the Christian ethic. (See Romans 2:21, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20, Ephesians 4:28).

As our society plunges into atheism and the rejection of God and Christianity, we can expect changes in what people consider right and wrong. For a growing segment of our population, lawlessness and theft are becoming accepted forms of survival, whether in goods, creative abilities, or relationships.

March 7, 2022March 6, 2022

The Aging of Churches

A child is born every eight seconds, and someone dies every 11 seconds in the United States. The average age of all people in this country is 38, but no mainline denomination has an average age that low. So we are concerned about the aging of churches. The average age of Muslims in the U.S. is 32, and the average age of “nothing in particular” is 43.

Data on major religious groups shows that those with an emphasis on the biblical concept of the family have a lower age than denominations that do not. For example, the United Methodist Church has an average age of 58, the Episcopal Church average is 57, Lutheran Church is 56, and the Presbyterian Church is 55. In contrast, Pentecostal Church members have an average age of 47, and Churches of Christ average 48.

Examining statistics about the aging of churches and projecting those numbers into the future, what do we see? Obviously, churches that fail to adhere to the nuclear family concept of the Bible will eventually age out. We already see many congregations where the leadership is made up entirely of people over 65. The kinds of issues that concern people over 65 are radically different from those of people around the U.S. average age of 38.

We don’t ask the age of people who use our websites, take our apologetic courses, or send us emails. However, it is evident from the questions we receive that most of them come from younger people looking for answers concerning science and faith. We do know that the age group with the largest share of likes on our Facebook page is 18-24. The second largest is 25-34. Together, those two groups make up almost half of the followers on our Facebook page (facebook.com/evidence4god). On the other hand, most of our negative emails come from older people who don’t feel there is a need for what our ministry is doing.

First Peter 3:15 encourages believers to “Be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you of the hope that is within you.” Younger people need to see evidence to lead them to a dynamic and functional faith. Their parents may have faith, but tradition is a poor apologetic.

References: Christianity Today November 2021, page 20, and The Search for November 2021, page 1.

February 26, 2022April 12, 2022

What Jesus Opposed – What Jesus Taught

Today’s misrepresentations of the teachings of Jesus Christ are often rooted in human traditions, atheistic beliefs, and denominational teachings alien to the Bible. Jesus opposed seven things:

1) Jesus was against abusive religious leaders. Matthew 23:4 “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger to move them.”

2) Jesus was against abusive religious rules. Matthew 23:13,23 “You shut up the kingdom of God in men’s faces … you have neglected the more important matters … justice, mercy, and faithfulness.”

3) Jesus was against violence. John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight.”

4) Jesus was against materialism and greed. Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.”

5) Jesus was against judgmentalism. Matthew 7:1-2 “Do not judge .. for in the same way that you judge others, you will be judged.”

6) Jesus was against racism. John 4:9,27 Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman. “For Jews do not associate with Samaritans … his disciples marveled that He talked with the woman.” See also Galatians 3:28.

7) Jesus was against male chauvinism. John 8:7 “If any one of you (men) is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Here are seven things Jesus taught:

1) Jesus is for loving all people. Matthew 5:44 “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

2) Jesus is for the value of every person. Matthew 5:22 “Anyone who says ‘you worthless one’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

3) Jesus is for forgiveness and reconciliation. Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

4) Jesus is for fairness and good relationships. Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you….”

5) Jesus is for peace and well-being. Matthew 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have enough worries of its own.”

6) Jesus is for healing and happiness. Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.”

7) Jesus is for hope and a future for all of us. John 14:2-3 “In my Father’s house there are many rooms … I am going there to prepare a place for you… I will come back and take you there.”

Either the teachings and claims of Jesus are true, or Jesus was a liar or a lunatic. You can’t just write Jesus off as a good man. There is too much evidence to the contrary, and attributing sayings and actions to Christ which contradict the above is common in our world. We need to listen to what Jesus actually taught and claimed and lived.

Reference: John Cooper’s video series “Beyond Reasonable Doubt,” which is available on our doesgodexist.tv website.

February 16, 2022February 15, 2022

Mob Rule Mentality

One of the worst characteristics of humans is the capacity to allow mob rule mentality to destroy clear thinking, evidence, logic, morals, and kindness. Evolutionists point to the similarities between human mob behavior and the gang behavior of wolves, meerkats, monkeys, and killer whales as evidence for their theories. There is no question that humans can act like these animals, but these animals cannot behave in the way Jesus taught us to live.

The Bible is not ignorant about this issue. In Acts 7, you can read the account of a man named Stephen, who was accused of blasphemy by a group opposed to Christianity. The group’s claims were false, and Stephen made a defense of his activity. However, rather than consider the evidence and think about what he said, the mob “ground their teeth at him in rage.” Then “they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed at him, dragged him out of the city … and they stoned Stephen.”

Another biblical example of mob rule mentality is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In Mark 15, we see Pilate trying to reason with the crowd. Yet, in typical mob behavior, the same people who had honored Christ not long before cried out for His crucifixion.

In Acts 19, the teaching of Paul in Ephesus caused resistance from the followers of the goddess Diana (Artemis). This resulted in a mob action endangering Paul’s life and forcing him to leave Ephesus. When mob rule mentality takes over, people ignore logic, evidence, and knowledge. The result is always destructive. If you examine the biblical examples, you will see that there are people feeding the mob lies, false information, and emotionalism.

So here we are in 2022, and mob rule mentality is still around. Mob rule dominates American politics. It isn’t just the January 6 mob that is at issue here. Both political parties have been guilty of being driven by mob rule. The irrational and anti-science mob rule over vaccines is killing people and bringing significant economic damage to the United States and Canada.

I have a friend who was active in a religious crusade by a well-known evangelist. Her job was to go forward when the evangelist extended an invitation to come to Christ. She and ten of her friends were paid to respond to the invitation. The reason was that once people started coming forward, others would follow. I have seen young people at a youth rally or a Christian camp come forward because “everyone else was coming forward.” These may be trivial examples, but they have long-range effects on people’s lives.

The Church must not adopt a mob rule mentality. We must not ask people to follow a human leader or blindly do what others do. Biblical conversions were primarily one-on-one. Even when Peter preached to the people in Acts 2, the plea that he and all the apostles made was to individuals (see Acts 2:37). Individuals responded for themselves and were baptized. The first-century Church was not a mob but individuals meeting in people’s homes (Acts 2:46).

Christians need to avoid being influenced by mob rule mentality, whether it’s a political mob, a religious mob, or a nationalistic mob. Paul wrote, “..study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands. That you may walk honestly toward those who are outside …” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

February 14, 2022February 13, 2022

God’s Original Plan for Marriage

Marriage is perhaps the most abused institution God has given us. Historically, people have used marriage for political purposes or as a national defense strategy. One way for a ruler to make peace with a rival king was to marry his daughter. The Bible describes cases of that, and they turn out to be a disaster. People sometimes use polygamy and arranged marriages to cement agreements of all kinds. They have strayed from God’s original plan for marriage by doing so.

Men have used marriage to denigrate and abuse women. They thought of women as possessions and baby machines but nothing more. In some cultures, you could show how wealthy you were by the number of women you controlled. Concubines were common among rulers in the ancient world. Even today, you can buy a wife online or through marriage brokers, and for some women, it has been a path to U.S. citizenship. In recent times, marriage has expanded to include all kinds of relationships, including homosexual and animal relationships.

It is no wonder that God’s original plan for marriage with a man and a woman is becoming less and less recognized in the world today. Genesis 1:27-28 makes it clear that men and women are equal. It is hard to misunderstand when it says, “…in the image of God, male and female He created them.” Passages like Galatians 3:28 point out that there is no distinction between races or sexes in the eyes of God. As far as value, we are “all one in Christ Jesus.”

Genesis 2 elaborates on God’s original plan for marriage between a man and a woman. In verse 18, God says, “It is not good for man to be alone,” and He created a “helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:24 concludes this relationship by saying, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they shall be one flesh.” The Hebrew word translated “cleave” means “adhere to.” This word refers to closeness, such as your tongue cleaving to the roof of your mouth (See Palms 137:6 and Job 29:10). This is not talking about a sexual act but a close relationship.

If a person’s view of marriage is that it is just a sexual relationship, then every person who engages a prostitute is married to her. Some marriages have failed because sex is the only thing the two individuals have. Marriage does fulfill the biological drive built into humans (See 1 Corinthians 7:2-), but that cannot be the sole basis of a marriage, or the relationship will not be what God’s original plan for marriage was designed to be. Becoming one and adhering means having a relationship that is so close that each one’s big concern in life is for the well-being of their mate. That kind of relationship blesses everyone, including children and family.

The New Testament tells us to conform to the laws of the land (1 Peter 2:13-15 and Romans 13:1-2), but the state may recognize relationships that God does not. Some people may want to marry their dog, cat, or chimpanzee, but God does not recognize such relationships. Cohabitation is not marriage and fails to bring the kind of blessings marriage brings. Studies show that cohabitation does not produce lasting relationships. Even though the LGBTQ community has adopted its own concept of marriage, the evidence does not indicate that it offers the stability and closeness God wants us to have.

As one who has been married for 61 years at the time of this writing, I can tell you that God’s system of marriage works. Jesus dealt with this issue many times. In Matthew 19:4-5, He repeats the message of Genesis. His critics asked why Moses allowed a perversion of God’s original plan for marriage. Jesus’ response was, “Because you knew so little of the meaning of love, but it was not intended that way at the beginning” (Phillips translation). How true that is in today’s world.