Breakpoint

Despite progressive states trying to ban APR, the treatment is proving to be safe for moms and lifesaving for babies.

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We're excited to announce the Colson Fellows program is now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 cohort. As a Breakpoint listener, you probably pick up on how the daily commentaries do the work of translation for you. We take a story or issue being discussed in our culture right now and model how to think through it from a Christian worldview. But, if you're interested in going deeper - in discovering how to develop the wisdom and skills needed to walk wisely in this cultural moment - then the Colson Fellows program might be for you. This ten-month program combines theological, spiritual, and worldview formation through a carefully curated combination of readings, daily devotions, live webinars, and monthly meetings with your peers. With both in-person and fully online offerings, you can choose the format that works best with your stage in life. Interested in learning more? You can explore the program and submit an application at colsonfellows.org.

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org

More stories are emerging showing children systematically put in harm's way to advance dangerous ideologies.

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health's model of so-called "gender-affirming care" does not "follow the science." Despite the growing evidence about puberty blockers' irreversible effects, the gaps in medical research, and the dangers for children, the lie that puberty blockers are "fully reversible" will continue.

To learn more about the harms of gender ideology, and the lie that these treatments are "irreversible," check out our latest Breakpoint Forum, "The Real Facts About Gender Ideology," featuring child and adolescent psychiatrists Dr. Miriam Grossman and Dr. Stephen Grcevich.

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Breakpoint listeners, this is John Stonestreet. On behalf of the Colson Center, I am excited to announce a brand-new collaboration designed to address the mass confusion of our day on sexuality, "gender" and identity, the Identity Project. The Identity Project is a library of over 150 videos (and growing monthly) addressing issues of identity, sex, "gender," and humanity from a Judeo-Christian worldview. The Identity Project experts speak with clarity and authority based on years of research and relevant experience. They include psychologists, theologians, sociologists, pastors, doctors, and parents who have real-life experience with these concerns. The Colson Center is excited to offer a limited-time $10 discount code to our audience. Use Promo Code BREAKPOINT to receive $10 off an annual access pass by going to identityproject.tv.

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org

New study confirms that more Americans identify as religiously unaffiliated than as Roman Catholics. Also, John and Maria discuss the debate over Christians attending same-sex weddings, the push for polyamory.

Recommendations

The Identity Project

"Perhaps Emotional Dependence on Celebrities Has Gone Too Far" by Freddie DeBoer

Segment 1: "Nones" Outpace Catholics

More 'nones' than Catholics: Non-religious Americans near 30% in latest survey

Segment 2: Should Christians Attend Same-sex Weddings?

CAN CHRISTIANS ATTEND GAY WEDDINGS?

IdentityProject.tv

Same-Sex Marriage: A Thoughtful Approach to God's Design for Marriage by Sean McDowell and John Stonestreet

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In Don't Follow Your Heart: Boldly Breaking the Ten Commandments of Self-Worship, author Thaddeus Williams exposes and refutes the false narratives enshrined in our secular culture. Exchange the futility of the "cult of self" that promises fulfillment and freedom for a life of courageous faith in Jesus, the true source of life. Request your copy today by visiting colsoncenter.org/january.

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org

Pope Francis' declaration allowing priests to bless same-sex couples puts Roman Catholics who accept the biblical definition of marriage in a tough spot. Though the document doesn't officially change doctrine, it has sown confusion and emboldened heresy.

However, earlier this month, a group of African bishops released a joint statement explaining why they will not bless same-sex couples. Led by Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungo, these bishops insisted that such unions are "contrary to the will of God," and that the pope's statement created "misconceptions and unrest in the minds of many lay faithful."

It's hard to miss a pattern here: As churches in the Global North abandon truth, churches in the Global South, especially Africa, stand firm. It brings to mind Jesus' words to the church of Philadelphia: "I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name."

Thank you, African Christians, for being faithful. Please pray for the rest of us.

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org

Sascha Bailey, son of a world-renowned photographer father and a fashion model mother, appeared to "have it all." Rather than saving his life, Bailey now believes that his attempts to adopt a new sex was, in reality, suicide with extra steps: "Transitioning was a way of killing myself without dying, because I was so unhappy with my life."

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What are worldviews? And why is teaching worldviews so crucial in this cultural moment?

Dive into worldviews, their importance, and how to make sense of the world with this greater understanding by signing up for the FREE Colson Educators course, The Importance of Worldviews. Find more resources on the Colson Educators website at educators.colsoncenter.org.

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org

Over the last year, we've reported on the (literal) trials of Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen, who was accused of "hate speech" for sharing Bible verses in support of traditional sexuality. Twice already, she has been found "not guilty" by the courts. But as our friends at ADF reported last week, prosecutors are now trying to get that verdict overturned. According to Paul Coleman of ADF International, the attacks on Räsänen have been relentless. "As is so often the case in 'hate speech' trials," he said, "the process has become part of the punishment."

Recently, a progressive Christian author argued that since Räsänen is "only" threatened with a fine and not prison, it's not really a big deal. But censorship is a big deal. The loss of freedoms that are good for everyone is a big deal. Christians and others who care about human flourishing and about loving our neighbors should stand against persecution of any degree.

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org

In this special edition of Breakpoint, John Stonestreet sits down with Dr. Miriam Grossman to discuss the facts behind transgender ideology. Miriam Grossman MD is board certified in psychiatry and in the sub-specialty of child and adolescent psychiatry. The author of five books, Dr. Grossman's work has been translated into eleven languages. She has testified in Congress and lectured at the British House of Lords and the United Nations.

This is a followup conversation from the latest Breakpoint Forum: The Real Facts About Gender Ideology. You can find the full recording for the forum on the Colson Center YouTube channel.

- Resources -

MiriamGrossmanMD.com

Lost in Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist's Guide Out of the Madness by Miriam Grossman M.D.

The Identity Project

Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT)

RealityBasedPublishing.com

He is He and She is She books by Ryan Bomberger

Accepting signatures: An Open Letter to the American Psychiatric Association Regarding the Publication of Gender-Affirming Psychiatric Care

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org

God has placed us in this moment, a moment that is really a historical anomaly. Among other things, this implies we have a responsibility to be the moral people upon which democracy depends. Thus, we must commit again to loving one another, to governing our tempers, ambitions, greed, and tendency toward selfishness, and to never compromising on the truth of what it means to be human or what it means to seek the good.

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In Don't Follow Your Heart: Boldly Breaking the Ten Commandments of Self-Worship, author Thaddeus Williams exposes and refutes the false narratives enshrined in our secular culture. Exchange the futility of the "cult of self" that promises fulfillment and freedom for a life of courageous faith in Jesus, the true source of life. Request your copy today by visiting colsoncenter.org/january.

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org

In a newly resurfaced clip from 2020, English philosopher A.C. Grayling claimed he could think of nothing truly unique that Christianity had given the world. Historian Tom Holland replied with what my colleague Shane Morris called, "one of his best 'mic drop' moments."

In about 90 seconds, Holland rattled off a list that included lifelong marriage, concepts of sexuality that protected women and children, the modern scientific project, the idea that humans bear the image of God, the universality of ethics, and more.

As Holland put it, "Essentially what I'm talking about … is … what makes Western civilization distinctive." These ideas ended slavery, expanded care to the poor, established democracy, educated the masses, and insisted that everyone be under the same law. The source of every one of these ideas is centuries of Christian reflection on the truths of the Bible. In short, what has Christianity given the world? Nearly everything that matters the most.

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org