Breakpoint

In a fumbled attempt to be more "inclusive" during "pride month," Johns Hopkins University announced updates to its glossary of LGBT terms. Particularly controversial was a new definition of "lesbian," as a "non-man attracted to non-men." The definition, avoiding the term "woman" altogether and centering on "men," appalled even members of the queer community. One lesbian called it "progressive misogyny."

It's another example of transgender ideology leading to the erasure of women. However, L, G, and B critics of this terminology miss how their own body-denying views contributed to this. Homosexual practice is just as much a rejection of the body as transgender ideology is.

For that matter, the hook-up culture, digital technology, abortion, and plenty of other things common in the modern world, have also eroded our collective understanding of the human body and its unique value. The only way forward is to recover the God-given meaning of the human body, who and how God created us to be.

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

According to political scientist Ryan Burge, the group of people in American society most likely to be highly engaged in political action are not evangelicals, as we've been led to believe. They are in fact atheists. "Let me put it plainly," Burge wrote, "atheists are the most politically active group in American politics today, and the Democrats (and some Republicans) ignore them at their own peril."

In a slew of indicators—from actions as simple as putting up a yard sign, to the more proactive of attending a protest march—atheists not only outdid their evangelical neighbors but, in most cases, were the most likely group to put money and time toward partisan activities.

Given the common perception that the religiously minded are most prone to political action, we'd be justified to ask just how this false narrative came to be taken for granted. However, an even more interesting question is why so many atheists live ultra concerned about truth and justice in political matters, given that their worldview commits them to a world without ultimate grounding for either? If the world is nothing more than ever-shifting arrangements of atoms, quarks, and leptons, why would we direct any passion toward the political realm?

At least part of the answer is what might be called "the Ricky Gervais solution." Gervais is the acerbic British comedian known for both skewering Hollywood elites and insisting on atheism in film, television, and real life. In a scene from one of his shows, his character is accosted by a stereotypically dim-witted believer who cannot fathom that someone would not believe in an afterlife. Why even bother to care about things, she asks, if this life is all there is? Gervais retorts that it's precisely because this life is all we have that we should live what little we get to the fullest.

Historian Tom Holland argues that this is how modern atheism preaches a version of the "good news" about overthrowing idols and leading others to a better life. In this sense, Holland writes, "Atheism in the contemporary West is less a repudiation of Christianity than a logical endpoint of one of its key trends."

The great passion of modern atheists to make things right in the world comes not so much from rejection of God's existence but from an anger against Him for the way He made it. The French philosopher Albert Camus argued that the atheist, as a metaphysical rebel,

defies more than he denies. Originally, at least, he does not suppress God; he merely talks to Him as an equal. But it is not a polite dialogue. It is a polemic animated by the desire to conquer. The slave begins by demanding justice and ends by wanting to wear a crown.

Or, as C.S. Lewis put it when describing his atheist days,

I was at this time living, like so many Atheists or Antitheists, in a whirl of contradictions. I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with Him for creating a world.

This era of atheist activism presents Christians with a unique opportunity. (Two, in fact.) First, there is opportunity for co-belligerency. Even if ultimately unwarranted, by expressing a great passion for justice and truth in our world, atheists often reach a point of common ground with Christians, namely the rising power and intolerance of "wokeism" and our culture's critical theory mood.

According to Evan Griggs, an agnostic writing in The European Conservative,

Those of us committed to fighting back against the "woke" must come to terms with the fact that only Christianity is potent enough to defeat the cult of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Non-believers need not convert, but it is time for us to get out of the way.

The other opportunity is the ever-present potential for loving our unbelieving neighbors. Whenever an atheist expresses a passion for justice, they are making a tacit admission that there must be more to life than what their worldview allows. We can remind them that the human dignity upon which they insist is rooted in Christian convictions about the imago Dei. We can offer an explanation for the presence of evil in the world, not as an illusion or fabrication or mere inconvenience, but as a real aspect of life after the fall.

We as Christians also have reason for hope that goes beyond mere wishful thinking for circumstances to change and for good to triumph over evil. We look for the restoration of all good things by the work of Jesus Christ, according to the will of the loving God Who created atheists, yet Whom they deny.

This Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy D. Padgett.

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

The Colson Fellows program is a lasting legacy of Chuck Colson following God's voice. It's been one year since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v Wade. What's the result?

— Recommendations —

Colson Center National Conference Online

Megan Phelps-Roper on Armchair Expert

Section 1 - Chuck Colson's Legacy

"Christianity Does Not Stop With Salvation: That's Only the Beginning …"

Breakpoint

Section 2 - The One-Year Anniversary of Dobbs

"Fewer Abortions Post-Dobbs"

Breakpoint

Section 3 - Archeological Findings in the Middle East

"Archeology Continues to Confirm Biblical Record"

Breakpoint

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

According to the British paper The Guardian, a U.K. woman recently pled guilty to taking an abortion pill later than the 10-week limit allowed by law. She lied to online doctors, claiming to be less than 10 weeks along when she really thought she was more like 28 weeks. It turns out she was wrong about that too. In fact, she was close to 32 weeks pregnant, nearly full term, and had searched online for the legal consequences of seeking late-term abortion.

As we approach the first anniversary of the end of Roe v. Wade, this case from the U.K. shows just how radical states like Colorado, New York, California, and Michigan are by allowing abortions up to birth, no questions asked. Most European countries restrict late-term abortions. It also demonstrates just how much mail-order abortion pills have changed what it means to protect and defend life. Yes, we need more laws that restrict this evil practice, but we hope for the day when all kinds of abortion are unthinkable.

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

A year ago, after 49 years of Roe v. Wade straitjacketing legislatures and courts into a draconian pro-abortion regime, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the infamous 1973 ruling. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health the court returned power to the states to determine abortion policy. Pro-life groups have rightly celebrated this fruit of decades of labor, encouraged that their efforts were not in vain. They can also be confident that their work to serve mothers and children will no longer be hamstrung by the miscarriage of justice embodied by Roe.

At the same time, it was not clear a year ago what the end of Roe would mean state by state. How divided is our country over this issue? What would the future of defending pre-born lives entail? Would the Dobbs decision take us closer to the ultimate goal: that abortion would not be merely illegal in some places but unthinkable everywhere? Or would the demon of Roe be replaced by seven more, even worse?

Recently, an article in National Review summarized what can be discerned from the annual Gallup Values and Beliefs poll. The number of Americans who identify as pro-life has grown in the past year by four points, to now 41% of the population. Similar numbers of those polled believe that abortion is a moral wrong. A majority of Americans think that abortion should be illegal in the second trimester, and a strong majority believe it should be illegal in the third trimester.

Not only has public opinion shifted in the wake of the Dobbs decision, but lives have been saved: over 24,000 of them, in fact, according to the statistics organization FiveThirtyEight. Though an additional 69,000 abortions were performed in pro-abortion states compared to the same time period a year before, that was more than offset by the over 93,000 fewer abortions performed in pro-life regions.

The dramatic difference between pro-abortion and pro-life states is an indication of the ongoing radicalization of the pro-abortion movement. States such as New York and California long ago replaced the pretense of "safe, legal, and rare" for macabre celebrations and blatant attempts to silence all pro-life dissent. More recently, and in reaction to Dobbs, my own state of Colorado has passed legislation that will make it among the most radical pro-abortion places in the Western world. There has also been an uptick in vandalism and flagrant violence hurled at pro-life agencies and activists.

The most difficult obstacle to the prospect of building a pro-life culture, even in otherwise pro-life states, is the increasing popularity and availability of mail-order abortion pills. These dangerous chemicals, which kill the children and risk the lives and health of their mothers, can be secured at home, often without a doctor's visit. According to most estimates, chemical abortions, which are notoriously difficult to track, now account for over 50% of all abortions.

Another development over the last year has been the failure of pro-life legislation in otherwise ostensibly conservative places, states such as Montana, Kansas, and Kentucky. Even in states where laws were passed, as in Indiana, pro-life lawmakers had a tougher-than-expected struggle. Thankfully, there were courageous and committed lawmakers who pushed through. In states with so-called "trigger laws," laws already on the books in the case of Roe's demise, abortion clinics have been closed and restrictions on abortion have been added, leaving whole regions increasingly abortion-free.

The Dobbs decision has also had unexpected implications for other at-risk children. A few years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Hannah Strege and her family. Hannah was the very first so-called "snowflake baby," meaning she'd spent the first two years of life as a frozen embryo conceived via in-vitro fertilization, before being adopted and given a chance at life. Hanna and her parents presented an amicus brief for the Dobbs case, arguing that her life shows that viability begins at fertilization due to modern technology. Now, post-Dobbs, the Streges continue to advocate for the protection of embryos as distinct, valuable human beings as more and more states take up the question of when life begins.

The rest of us must continue to advocate for the protection of pre-born life, knowing it will take years of political campaigning, legal maneuvering, crisis pregnancy intervention, and care for at-risk moms and babies. For a free resource on how you can work toward creating a culture of life, go breakpoint.org/abortion.

This Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy D. Padgett.

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

Recently, a high school graduate from South Carolina, Lydia Owens, shared her testimony in her graduation speech. She encouraged her classmates that no matter their accomplishments or failures, their value comes from being made in the image of God.

Lydia described losing her mom, who had been her greatest inspiration, just two years earlier. "When everything else in my life felt uncertain, the only person that I could depend on to stay the same was Jesus," Lydia said.

Lydia told her classmates they need not worry about success "because God promises that His grace is sufficient for us, and that His power is made perfect in our weaknesses." The crowd's reaction demonstrated that they had been deeply touched by Lydia's faith and courage. Her speech has now gone viral.

Lydia's faith makes it clear that students should never be forced to leave their faith out of the classroom.

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

Sir Isaac Newton, in a letter written in 1675 to fellow scientist Robert Hooke, wrote, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Chuck Colson was one of those giants for many of us, and it is our privilege to steward his legacy at the Colson Center.

In fact, Chuck believed that his most important legacy, more than any of the organizations he founded or the many books he authored, would be people. That's why he started what he called the Centurions Program, something that continues today under a different name, the Colson Fellows program. Here's Chuck Colson on the important vision he had for this program:

"I have a burning passion—it's the first item on my prayer list every day—and that's to see a movement of Christians raised up from the churches to defend truth in the marketplace of ideas and to live out the Gospel. Nothing less than this kind of an awakening can possibly save our quickly deteriorating culture. That's why I'm now spending all of my time working at Breakpoint and the Colson Center. One of my major projects is developing Christian leaders who can understand and defend a biblical view of all of life. We call this the Centurions Program.

For the past six years we have brought 100 of the best and brightest into this year-long teaching effort, to study under some of the best minds in the Christian world. It's demanding: We read books together, view movies and critique them, do a lot of teaching online, and have three residencies during the year in Lansdowne, Virginia, near our offices.

Our Centurion graduates are like the Marines or the Navy Seals who are on the front lines of the next wave of leaders. Can this work?

Just two weeks ago I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a rally on behalf of the Manhattan Declaration. It was organized by the Catholic Archbishop of New Mexico, Michael Sheehan, and a former congressman named Bill Redmond, who is a Centurion graduate. You can imagine my thrill when I walked into the convention center to see 1,600 participants. And they were on fire!

They were there to learn biblical worldview, to learn how to defend the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty, to learn how to become activists! There were representatives from across the denominational spectrum: Southern Baptists, Nazarenes, Assemblies of God, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics. The Church had come together. And all of this was organized by one gutsy archbishop and one Centurion graduate. They in fact have built a powerful network across the state of New Mexico. So yes, it can be done.

And our Centurions are doing a whole variety of important tasks across the spectrum. Like Jon Blankmeyer, who founded a safe home for girls rescued from forced prostitution. Josue Delgado, a hospital chaplain who teaches emergency medical technicians on how to build stronger marriages. Kathy Peele, who founded a group to help mothers under distress, and so many more. By the time they are certified, Centurions know how to write, discuss, and teach Christian worldview in all sorts of settings.

They know how to create God-honoring culture through the arts, media, literature, and business. They're able to debate ethical challenges with medical professionals, advocate human rights, and develop tomorrow's leaders by raising children grounded in biblical values. In short, they learn to defend truth in an age in which many believe such a thing does not exist.

Look, folks, the reason the Church today is having so little impact is too many Christians view their faith only in terms of a personal relationship with Jesus. But Christianity does not stop with salvation: That's only the beginning. We've got to learn how to present our worldview in a winsome way. And if we don't do this, it simply dooms our churches to isolation and irrelevance—just when our culture desperately needs the hope of the Gospel more than ever."

After Chuck's death in 2012, the program he started as the Centurions Program was renamed the Colson Fellows program. I think Chuck would be ecstatic to know that this past year, over 1,300 Christians from across the country and around the world studied worldview, theology, and culture as part of the Colson Fellows program. He'd be even more excited to know all the ways the fellows are currently planning to apply what they've learned in the time and place God has called them.

If you desire to make a similar impact in your community for Christ, consider studying with the Colson Fellows program next year. With over 60 regional cohorts around the country, there is likely a cohort in your region. If not, there are online cohorts offered as well. Either way, you'll find a deeper understanding of truth and be better equipped to live out your faith in this cultural moment in whatever calling and vocation God has put before you. For more information, visit www.colsonfellows.org.

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

This Breakpoint was revised from one aired March 16, 2022.

Just in time for "pride" month, the Associated Press (AP) joined the ranks of activist organizations telling Americans to embrace transgenderism. Recent updates to AP's style guide insist that reporters use individuals' "preferred" pronouns, avoid terms like "biological sex" and "both sexes," call sex "assigned at birth," and refer to controversial surgical and chemical "transition" interventions as "gender-affirming care."

The AP justifies the new rules, claiming to follow the science. However, "the science" is far from settled on the subject. Declaring that puberty blockers are "fully reversible" or that chemical and surgical "transition" interventions are backed by evidence betrays actual truth-seeking. More and more studies indicate that these controversial interventions are detrimental to the physical health and mental wellbeing of children.

Peddling ideas that are basically dangerous pseudoscience in order to get some cultural brownie points is cowardly. The AP should stick to journalism that seeks the truth, rather than promotes harm.

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

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While activists in the U.S. seek to eliminate any restrictions to so-called "gender-affirming" interventions for minors, a number of European countries are adding safeguards around or backing off altogether from these controversial procedures. Following European neighbors Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, the Norwegian Healthcare Investigation Board announced that it will revise its recommended standards of care for minors struggling with gender dysphoria. The proposed revisions would no longer allow the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transition surgery for minors.

As NHIB rightfully points out, the science surrounding "gender-affirming care" is far from settled. In fact, the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or transition surgeries to treat gender dysphoria lacks adequate research. There is hardly any substantial research on the long-term effects of these treatments on minors, and what we do know about them is disregarded by ideologically driven proponents. Puberty blockers, for example, have been known to plague patients with loss of bone density. Cross-sex hormones lead to sterilization. Transition surgeries are rife with serious complications. In the name of a dubious ideology, we're experimenting on children.

Additionally, most of the long-term studies that proponents cite to support current "gendering-affirming" protocols are poorly designed. As the report summarized: "As a rule, there is no control group in the studies." This means that any effects are "often assessed at group level and not at individual level, so that unwanted effects for some patients can be masked by improvement in the rest of the group." The results are also skewed by factors such as patient dropout and a failure to make contact for follow-ups. In other words, the numbers are played with to get the desired result.

At the heart of the case for so-called "gender-affirming care" is the claim that transition prevents suicide. Research, however, shows the opposite. In a summary of recent research, Ben Johnson described how life satisfaction among those who undergo "transition" surgeries decreases rather than increases. Another study published last month found that self-identifying transgender individuals—not necessarily those who have had transition surgery—have high levels of loneliness. These studies confirm the findings of one of the best studies on the effect that transitioning has on the mental health of patients, which finds that those who undergo gender transition are over 19 times more likely to commit suicide than their peers.

Given the clear dearth of quality research on the long-term effects of chemical and surgical "transition" interventions, any promotion of such controversial medicine is motivated not by science but by ideology.

At the heart of transgender ideology is a belief that the physical, human body, specifically our God-given biological sex, does not constitute what it means to be a person. Rather the person is an intangible self, separate from the body, that can only be defined by one's own inner sense of self. Motivated by this central belief, activists tailor their views on health and wellness to match. Health, for them, is ultimately defined by the satisfaction of the immaterial self, not one's physical wellbeing. So the harms to one's body found in transitioning are worth the actualization of the inner self's true gender.

Like every false ideology, transgender ideology is at odds with reality. As much as transgender activists want to say "gender-affirming care" will bring people satisfaction, our experience of God's creation finds just the opposite. While more research may be necessary, studies indicate that gender transition surgery, on the whole, exacerbates patients' unhappiness. This tells us that, as much as we'd like to disregard and deny the reality of our God-given bodies, they are a vital part of us that should not be discarded for the sake of our own sinful designs.

Rather than trying to destroy the body, care that truly affirms gender would seek to reconcile people with their God-given bodies, helping them simultaneously accept the gift of the body and lament its brokenness.

This Breakpoint was co-authored by Jared Eckert.

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

Last year, after a gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five and injuring 19, vandals graffitied the property of Focus on the Family, accusing them of being responsible for the horrific crime. The shooting was actually carried out by someone who identified as LGBT and had visited the nightclub with his mom.

A few days later, on the steps of the Supreme Court, members of the Christian legal advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom, were met by protestors who called them a "hate group" for defending the constitutionally protected religious freedom of a Christian graphic designer.

To follow Christ today invites false accusations and waves of hostility. That's why I've invited Kristen Waggoner, CEO and general counsel of ADF, and Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, to join me for the Great Lakes Symposium on Christian Worldview on July 27th at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Go to colsoncenter.org/greatlakes to attend live or join the livestream.

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