worldview

Are bodies something we merely “have,” or are our bodies essential to who we are?

Higher education is experiencing not simply a communication revolution. Generation Z is forcing course makeovers, “pushing academics to be more hands-on and job-relevant.” Millennials may have wanted climbing walls and en suite kitchens; Generation Z wants all things career development. Generation Z is even changing office hours.

Our “digital veils” function as a source of power and control, in a way depicted long ago in C.S. Lewis’s classic, Till We Have Faces. The main character and narrator in the story is Orual, the unattractive and tomboyish older sister of the goddess Psyche. Orual convinces Psyche to disobey her husband, the god Cupid, who then banishes Psyche and ends their marriage. As a result, Orual decides to live out the rest of her days wearing a black veil.

The veil, which starts off as “a sort of treaty made with [her] ugliness,” quickly becomes a form of power and control. Whereas her ugliness and mannishness caused others to disregard her, the veil gives her a kind of power over others. Her father, the king, takes her seriously, suitors flock to her, and enemies respect her. By shrouding her face in mystery, the veil even led some to imagine she was a dazzling beauty or even a spirit.

What is true of Americans is true of America. Our founding declaration states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

When we stand on life, we oppose abortion and euthanasia. When we stand on liberty, we oppose human trafficking and prostitution, slavery, and unfair incarceration. When we stand on the pursuit of happiness, we oppose systemic poverty, discrimination, and racism.

It is because our post-truth culture is abandoning these foundational principles that our moral edifice is crumbling amid the culture wars lashing our nation.

On August 19, 1662, French philosopher, mathematician, and apologist Blaise Pascal died at just 39 years old. Pascal, despite his shortened life, is renowned for pioneering work in geometry, physics, and probability theory. His most powerful legacy, however, involves the ways he engaged with life’s biggest questions.

Pascal’s intellect garnered attention at an early age. At 16, he produced an essay on the geometry of cones so impressive that René Descartes initially refused to believe it could possibly be attributed to a “sixteen-year-old child.” Later, Pascal advanced the study of vacuums in the face of a prevailing (and misplaced) belief that nature is completely filled with matter, and thus “abhors a vacuum.”

I believe God has so much compassion for the confusion the younger generations are battling with the Church. We’re at a time in history where so much is being exposed in our world–systemic racism, capitalist greed, political warfare and environmental carelessness, to name a few. Unfortunately, the Church is not excluded from the influence of these same systems. Millennials are noticing and calling out for change, and when they don’t see changes in the Church, they leave.

So whenever I hear of a friend leaving the Church because of spiritual abuse, disillusionment or hypocrisy, I understand. I get it. It’s challenging to determine who God is from what people have done in the “name of God.”

But, even though I see their point of view, I know that leaving God because of what people have done is never the answer. Not all churches are spiritually harmful. And even if they were–God is still good. And always will be.

Church culture may have gotten some things wrong and caused real pain, but I believe there is still real joy in following Jesus. 

Here is a list that I hope will encourage anyone on their journey to leave old, harmful lies behind to adopt new, faithful and exciting ones.

Photo courtesy: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/byakkay

In her book Live Your Truth and Other Lies: Exposing Popular Deceptions That Make Us Anxious, Exhausted, and Self-Obsessed, apologist Alisa Childers breaks down widespread mantras of culture and their consequences. One of these is a misunderstanding of Jesus’ words so common that, for many, it may be the eleventh commandment that supplants the other ten: “You shouldn’t judge.”

People are dying—some literally through “deaths of despair” such as suicide and drug addictions, the rest spiritually—to experience God’s life-giving love and grace.

But they understandably judge Christianity by Christians. When I was lost, I did the same thing. It was the vibrant joy and peace I witnessed in Christians I met that drew me to their faith. I wanted what they had. Nearly fifty years later, I’m so glad I saw Jesus in them.

Now it’s my turn and yours. 

Few voluntary associations in American history have had as deep and wide an influence as the Boy Scouts of America. The training ground of soldiers and senators, pastors and presidents, the organization effectively instilled values like trustworthiness, loyalty, courteousness, thrift, bravery, and reverence in many of the over 100 million young men who joined in its over 100-year history. In fact, for much of the 20th century at least, “Scout’s honor” was among the highest assurances one could give of their honesty and integrity.

However, if the only evidence considered was the Boy Scouts of 2023, it would be hard to imagine that this long and storied history ever took place and that the organization ever helped boys mature into virtuous manhood. Ten years ago, the Boy Scouts of America allowed openly gay members for the first time. Soon thereafter, an avalanche of sexual abuse allegations, many of them decades old, forced the Scouts into bankruptcy and a 2.5-billion-dollar settlement. Since then, the organization has been in membership free fall.

Does the incessant drumbeat of cultural opposition to biblical morality discourage you? It does me. Since I don’t live in Maryland or Austin, I’m tempted to ignore these stories. But that would be like ignoring the ongoing tragedy in Lahaina just because I don’t live on Maui.