Let's dig more deeply into contemporary warfare, specifically the ongoing conflicts between Russian & Ukraine and the U.S. & Iran.SOURCES:Arhirova, Hanna and Barry Hatton. “Russia’s jet-powered drones bring empty Kyiv supermarket shelves and rattle Ukrainians.” Associated Press. August 31, 2026 (https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-jet-drones-supermarkets-db2f55ab0c3bd5d091dd4338d8bd28c8).Brookshire, Richard. Give Me Liberty. New York: Basic Books, 2019.Bush, George W. Decision Points. New York: Crown Publishers, 2010.Chikwanah, Eveline. “Fights erupt over West Africa church property.” UM News. March 28, 2025 (https://www.umnews.org/en/news/fights-erupt-over-west-africa-church-property).Donlevy, Katherine. “Embattled Iranian president admits crippling US sanctions suffocating Tehran: ‘We are in a war situation,.” New York Post. August 29, 2026 (https://nypost.com/2026/08/29/us-news/crippling-us-sanctions-are-suffocating-tehran-embattled-iranian-president-admits-we-are-in-a-war-situation/).“Iranians voice mistrust as criticism of Pezeshkian’s cabinet mounts.” Iran Insight. August 18, 2024 (https://www.iranintl.com/en/202408183910).“Iran’s president ahead of talks: ‘We will not relinquish our right to enrich uranium.’” The Times of Israel, June 21, 2026 (https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/irans-president-ahead-of-talks-we-will-not-relinquish-our-right-to-enrich-uranium/).Johnson, Mike. “America Is ‘Being Attacked From Within’: Mike Johnson Warns at GOP Convention.” Associated Press. Septermber 10, 2026 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNeh3BNLSBA).MacDonald, Alistair and Oksana Pyrozhok. “The Ukraine Drones That Are Carrying a Bigger Punch, Deeper Into Russia.” The Wall Street Journal. August 31, 2026 (https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/the-ukraine-drones-that-are-carrying-a-bigger-punch-deeper-into-russia-db8a6409).Mann, Toby and Imogen James. “Zelensky says he expects war to continue into winter after talks with US envoys.” BBC. September 6, 2026 (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6248nvqy8po).Pezeshkian, Masoud. “Pezeshkian Says Iran Does Not Seek War, Vows Firm Response to Attacks.” This Is Beirut. August 31, 2026 (https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/news/politics/pezeshkian-says-iran-does-not-seek-war-vows-firm-response-to-attacks).Popli, Nik. “‘I Wouldn’t Call it a War’: Vance Downplays Conflict With Iran, Even as Strikes Continue.” Time. September 3, 2026 (https://time.com/article/2026/09/03/vance-iran-war-press-briefing/).Putin, Vladimir. “Address by the President of the Russian Federation.” The Kremlin, Moscow. February 24, 2022 (http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843).“Read Trump’s full statement on Iran attacks.” PBS News, February 28, 2026 (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/read-trumps-full-statement-on-iran-attack).Self, Keith. “Congressman Keith Self Sounds Alarm on Existential Threat of Sharia in America During Fiery House Floor Speech.” November 19, 2025 (https://keithself.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-keith-self-sounds-alarm-existential-threat-sharia-america-during).Shimron, Yonat and Ellie Ashby. “The schism in the UMC ended two years ago; but not in this Dallas church.” Religion News Service. August 28, 2026 (https://religionnews.com/2026/08/28/the-schism-in-the-umc-ended-but-its-largest-church-is-now-embroiled-in-it/#:~:text=Two%20years%20after%20a%20schism,of%20former%20President%20George%20W).Trump, Donald J. “President Trump Delivers Remarks at the Future Investment Initiative.” The White House. March 27, 2026 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/videos/president-trump-delivers-remarks-at-the-future-investment-initiative/, 1:13:06).Walzer, Michael. Just and Unjust Wars. New York: Basic Books, 1977.Zelenskyy, Volodymyr. “On Independence Day, Zelensky Vows Ukraine ‘will always be independent.’” The Ukranian Weekly. August 28, 2026 (https://subscription.ukrweekly.com/on-independence-day-zelenskyy-vows-ukraine-will-always-be-independent/).

Have we become, or are we becoming, a culture that devalues dialogue? And why should we care? In this episode, Dr. Wolfe explains how the 2016 election cycle became a critical pivot point for how we converse. From presidential rhetoric and political discourse to social media interaction and denominational decision-making, the developing trends of echo-chambering, superlatively, rage-baiting, and functional truth are shaping us as a culture (and as sub-cultures). But ancient wisdom calls. Wherever truth is merely functional and revolution is the highest virtue, counterclaims are disruptive to the desired culture-reforming movement, so honest dialogue is cast as immoral. That disruptive, disenchanted polemical style is wholly disinterested in dialogue. The undisciplined tongue is averse to the judicious ear. Those whose claims are laced in flippant superlatives, whose arguments are disrespectfully ad hominem, and whose end justifies their own means… they are not interested in “understanding, but only care to show off their own opinions” (Proverbs 18:2). They work for the death of dialogue in order to amplify the priorities of their positions. This is increasingly evident in every discipline today—political, religious, and otherwise. SOURCES: Browning, Kellen and Matt Zdun. “Online and on the Stump, Democrats Embrace a Four-Letter Word.” The New York Times, April 9, 2026 (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/us/politics/democrats-social-media-profanity-f-word.html).McGurn, William. “The Profane President Trump,” Wall Street Journal, March 23, 2028 (https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-profane-president-trump-178f4333).Stone, Roger. *The Making of the President 2016*. New York: Skyhorse, 2017.Taylor, Charles. *A Secular Age*. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007.Truman, Carl. *To Change All Worlds: Critical Theory from Marx to Marcuse*. Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic, 2024. Vance, JD. *Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith*. New York: Harper, 2026.Watkins, Zoe. "Rage-Baiting and the Christian response." Baptist and Reflector, February 9, 2026 (https://baptistandreflector.org/rage-baiting-and-the-christian-response/).Wootson. Cleve R. Jr., Clara Ence Morse, Lydia Sidhom, and Eric Lau. “Profanity is a hallmark of Trump’s second term, a Post analysis finds.” The Washington Post, May 21, 2026 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/21/profanity-is-hallmark-trumps-more-combative-second-term/).

Listen in for a brief introductory to the new Wisdom Calling podcast, officially launching September 1, 2026. In this episode, Dr. Wolfe gives an overview of the purpose of the podcast and its biblical foundation in Proverbs Chapter 9. Our decisions, conversations, and relationships are shaping us both as individuals and as a culture at large. But how are we to know whether the shape we’re taking is positive or negative? In other words, if we end up where we’re headed, will we like who we have become as much as we have enjoyed the freedom of becoming? "Wisdom is not silent. Wisdom is not hiding. Wisdom is not inaccessible. She calls out from the highest points, inviting us all into a life of virtue and meaning, together. That's where I plan to meet you in this Wisdom Calling podcast... right there, at the intercession of theology, culture, and leadership... where we will turn up the volume on timeless wisdom and filter out the noise of the passing moments."