The following is a transcript excerpt from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/episode-2-understanding-the-ending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">episode 2</a> of Jonathan Pageau&#8217;s new series &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/end-of-the-world-official-trailer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of the World.</a>&#8220; Now available on DailyWire+.
The ancient Greeks had an interesting understanding of their world and it is an understanding which actually reflects itself in every culture. It&#8217;s not unique to the Greeks. It is the image of the center moving to the periphery.
In the city of Delphi, the Greeks had something they called the “Omphalos,” a holy stone considered to be the “belly button of the world.” That&#8217;s actually what it means. To them, this was the center of the world, or better yet, the center of their world. It bound them together as Hellenes, having the same language, worshiping the same gods, and even though they had conflict amongst themselves, there was something transcendent which bound them together nonetheless.
As the Greeks would move away from their city, however, they would encounter people who were strangers, but were recognizable. They would form some kind of relationship with them. Because they shared a border, they could even understand them a little bit and they would trade with one another.
But as they moved further out, they would encounter new groups of people and they really struggled to understand their language. That&#8217;s where the word “Barbarian” comes from. It&#8217;s the idea of hearing someone bark like a dog — not because they actually barked like a dog, but because they&#8217;re language was so far removed from the Greek language that they couldn’t understand what they were saying. “Bar, bar, bar, bar, bar,” is what the Greeks would hear when they encountered the Scythians or other strangers further off.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/episode-2-understanding-the-ending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Episode 2 of &#8220;End of the World&#8221; with Jonathan Pageau</a></h3>
So, in the Greek vision of the world, as you move further and further away, then you start to encounter even stranger things. You would start to encounter humans who were not like us: humans who had the heads of dogs, humans who had no heads or a head in their chest or maybe humans with one large foot. They had this weird movement towards something like idiosyncrasy.
At the end of the world, there were the Amazons, which were an upside down version of Greek culture, where the women were the warriors. The men didn&#8217;t have much of a place in their society, so it was an upside down reflection of their world.
There are legends about Alexander the Great who, as he invaded the world and took more and more space, came to a place in the north called the Caspian Gates where he built a giant wall. That wall was meant to hold back all the monsters of the world on the other side.
If you look at the descriptions of those monsters, you&#8217;ll see why they&#8217;re put behind the gate. Many of them were animal-human hybrids, they ate bugs, and were known to do very disturbing things. They broke all of the taboos. Because of that, they had to be fully excluded from the world.
Now, the legend is that when we come to the end of this world, that’s when the Gates of Alexander, the Caspian Gates, will be broken and the hordes of Gog and Magog will flood into the world, playing a part in the destruction of the world.
That image is a little story to help you understand what the “shape of a world” is. It&#8217;s very dramatic, of course, but there are many other smaller versions of this story.
You can even see it in the Bible. 
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For those of you who know your Bible, you&#8217;ll notice that the first chapters in Genesis are actually quite similar to Alexander’s story. In the beginning, God puts Adam and Eve in a garden in a place of balance between nature and culture. Usually, this garden is actually seen as a mountain, a high place up above. Think of the mountain as something like a pyramid with a point at the top, which joins us all together. When Adam and Eve transgressed, they were chased down the mountain, out of the garden of paradise, and into the world.
As you follow the story in Genesis you discover an increase in faults. When Cain kills his brother, he is chased even further down the mountain or further into the valley. Then, as Cain&#8217;s descendants develop, we get two things: On the one hand, we get an increase in civilization or power. The descendants of Cain founded the first city and all the things which represent civilization up to metallurgy, weapons, and the arts. So there is this increase in power, this increase in the setting of inside and outside, because that&#8217;s what a city is. Before that, there were no cities. So when Cain built the first city, he created this inside-outside identity. Some things were ejected and some things were on the inside.
There&#8217;s also something else which happens during that time. Cain&#8217;s descendants start to mingle with the sons of God.
Now, without getting into what exactly that means, it is important to understand that it is seen as a type of mixture, two things which don&#8217;t belong together start to mix together and become confused. These giants, these monsters that came about from the relationship between the sons of God and the daughters of men, brought about things like hybrid animals, that mixture of different identities of animals.
As the civilization increased, confusion increased at the same time, and at some point, everything broke apart. You could say the walls crumbled and up came the waters. The waters of the flood invaded the world and that was the end of that world.
Looking at the relationship between the Greek stories and the stories of the Bible, we can see how these types of descriptions can help us understand the shape of the world and how there is this relationship between power, civilization, control, and chaos.
* * *
Jonathan Pageau is a French Canadian icon carver, public speaker and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@JonathanPageau" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTuber</a> exploring the symbolic patterns that underlie our experience of the world, how these patterns emerge and come together, manifesting in religion, art and in popular culture. He&#8217;s also the editor of the <a href="https://orthodoxartsjournal.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Orthodox Arts Journal</a> and host of <a href="https://thesymbolicworld.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Symbolic World</a> blog and podcast.

00_EOTW_19x9_V01 (1)

How Ancient Stories Can Help Us Understand And Survive The End Of The World

Alexander the Great

Bible

DailyWire+

Genesis

Jonathan Pageau

Psychology

Readers Pass

Theology

Are you familiar with the term eschatology? It refers to the study of the end-times, an area of focus that has intrigued Christians throughout the centuries. 
Interest in eschatology may prompt questions such as: Are we living in the last days? How long will it be until Jesus returns? What are the signs of the time?
This is hardly an abstract theological topic of little relevance for the here and now, for how we think about tomorrow greatly affects how we live today.
For example, if you were absolutely convinced that Jesus was coming at any moment, would you be thinking about a multi-generational business plan? Would you be concerned about environmental issues? Would you be making financial investments on behalf of your infant grandchild?
Many Christians do, in fact, live like this, unable to think in multi-generational terms because they are convinced they are living in the last generation. But what if they are not?
When I came to faith in 1971 at the age of 16, I was told that Jesus was coming at any minute. All of the signs were lining up, and prophecies were being fulfilled. You could feel it in the air.
The bestselling Christian book of the day was Hal Lindsey’s “Late Great Planet Earth,” where everyone could see how the Bible seemingly predicted even the even the newspaper headlines.
Suffice it to say, this feeling was back in 1971, over 50 years ago, and Jesus has yet to return to Earth . Whereas I was 16 at the time, my youngest grandchild is now about to turn 16. The calculations were clearly a little off!
In 1988, Edgar Whisenant published a book titled “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988.” Hundreds of thousands of copies were given away to pastors, and millions of copies were sold. The rapture being the second coming of Jesus at time that is unknown, which Whisenant believed would take place between September 11-13, 1988.
Many readers were convinced that the end was near, and they subsequently went into debt or quit their jobs, thinking they could leave their bills for the Antichrist. Instead, they left those debts for the collection agency.
Of course, it’s rare to find errors this glaring or that one eschatological belief can lead to such extreme folly. Though, that doesn’t mean the possibility of serious consequences are absent from our own end-time beliefs.
To give another case in point, many who believe that Jesus could come at any minute also believe that the world will only become worse until He returns. Morals will lower and lower. Spiritual confusion will only grow. People will become increasingly wicked as the years pass.
These Christians, therefore, reason to themselves, why bother fighting the inevitable? Why engage in the culture wars? Why get involved politically? It’s all going downhill from here!
To this day, this attitude has led many Christians to abdicate their social responsibilities, leaving a void that other groups have been only too glad to fill. 
This is a very serious error, one that steals initiative, freezes inertia, and paralyzes action.
On the other hand, this attitude of end-time urgency has also fueled the fires of missions, evangelism, and outreach, as Christians think to themselves, “Since the world is about to collapse and Jesus is about to return, let’s save as many souls as we can.”
However, to reiterate, this attitude has also led to a serious failure in social responsibility, wreaking havoc on the next generation.
In stark contrast, Christians who have believed the gospel will ultimately transform the world have thought in multi-generational terms, believing good will triumph over evil in the end.
This mentality inspired American Christian leaders like Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) and Charles Finney (1792-1875) to work for social reform, to the point that Finney was a major abolitionist leader in the war against slavery.
According to the <a href="https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/american-postmillennialism-seeing-the-glory">Christian History Institute</a>, and with specific reference to Finney’s end-time beliefs, “This led in the years before the Civil War to unprecedented evangelical social and religious reform: temperance, antislavery, peace, women’s rights, education, as well as dramatic expansion in home and foreign mission work.”
Finney and Edwards believed that they were living near the end of the age, but they thought it would be ushered in by the success of their Christian efforts, rather than by the failure of those efforts.
Of course, none of this changes what the Bible does or does not say about the end of the age. 
You might be convinced Jesus could come at any minute, that the world will only get darker until then, or you might believe the Lord’s return will be centuries in the future and that things will increasingly improve until that time.
My point here is not to tell you what the Scriptures do or do not say about the end. That’s for you to study and decide.
Instead, my point is that our eschatology affects how we live and think in the here and now, and that is something worth considering.
That being said, if I might offer a suggestion, I would encourage you to think pragmatically, since there is so much debate surrounding eschatology.
First, while the timing of the Lord’s return is uncertain, death has been certain for every generation, and death’s inevitability can affect anyone at any time. So, all of us should be preparing to meet our Maker now. One ancient Jewish teaching says, “Repent one day before you die.” Since you don’t know the day of your death, though, you should be repenting every day.
Second, we know there are multiple generations alive right now, from the very elderly to the newborns. Therefore, while living in readiness to meet God at any time, we must think in multi-generational terms. This is simply accepting reality. The generations are here.
Third, while we can debate how long it will be until Jesus returns and whether the world will become better or worse until then, we must still live in the here and now. So, how should we be living today?
I say it is far better to believe in the power of God than in the power of Satan, knowing that light always dispels darkness and, in the biblical calendar, morning always follows night.
So let’s shine brightly while we have life, and let’s fight the good fight rather than cave in and cower. And if we go down, we go down swinging, spiritually speaking.
Isn’t that the mentality the Lord would want us to have? We must choose action over inaction, even as we continue to debate the end-times. As long as God is God and Jesus is risen from the dead, we should choose hope over despair, faith over unbelief, and confidence in Him over fear.
Dr. Michael Brown (<a href="http://www.askdrbrown.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.askdrbrown.org</a>) is the host of the nationally syndicated <a href="http://www.lineoffireradio.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Line of Fire</a> radio program. He holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries and is the author of 40 books. Connect with him on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AskDrBrown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/DrMichaelLBrown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>, or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbINn3x-intLp88Zrf8acpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Reading Holy Bible

How Your View Of The End-Times Affects Your Outlook Today

Christianity

The first chapter of the first book of the Bible, Genesis 1, tells the story of the creation of the heavens and the earth, culminating with the creation of the human race. Due to its content and its prominent place in the Scriptures, it is one of the best-known chapters in the Bible.
It is also one of the most controversial chapters, leading to the obvious question: Should Genesis 1 be interpreted literally?
If so, does it point to the earth being young, in existence less than 10,000 years? Or does it point to an old earth, perhaps many millions of years old? Is it in harmony with the findings of modern science? Or are these questions unrelated to the purpose of Genesis 1?
For those who have studied this chapter in depth, there are many questions that arise.
Should the opening verse be translated as a self-contained statement, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”? Or should it be translated, “When God began to create the heavens and the earth,” serving as an opening clause for the verses that follow?
The next verses describe the earth as a shapeless mass, but we’re not told how the earth got into that condition. Did something cataclysmic take place between verses 1 and 2?
We’re also told the darkness covered the deep waters, but again, we’re not told where the darkness came from. How should this be explained?
Then, on the first day of creation, God calls forth light, yet the sun is not made until the fourth day. How can there be light without sun? Does this point to scientific ignorance on the part of the author? Or could it be Genesis 1 is not about science at all?
But are we asking the right questions? Could it be we are misunderstand the very purpose of Genesis 1?
Let’s first consider the question of the Bible and science.
Let’s say the Bible rightly taught that the earth rotated around the sun rather than the sun rotated around the earth. If that were the case, then everyone would have thought the Bible was wrong until Copernicus in the 15th century!
People would have said, “It’s clear the Bible is not the Word of God, since it wrongly teaches that the earth goes around the sun, whereas science tells us the sun goes around the earth.”
That is something we rarely think about when it come to Genesis 1. If it were here to teach us about science, then past generations would have rejected it as the Word of God because it was out of sync with the science of the day.
Does the Bible use observational language, speaking of the sun rising and sun setting? Yes it does. We use those expressions too.
But did the biblical writers believe the sun went around the earth and literally rose and set? Probably so, since they were people of their times, and when they talked about the sun rising and setting, they were describing what they saw.
But that was not the point of their message. The point was to teach us about God and how He wanted us to live. And that’s why we read the Bible to this day, not to learn whether the earth goes around the sun but to learn about the Lord.
Returning to Genesis 1, scholars have pointed out how carefully crafted the text is, containing an elaborate sequence of sevens, all of them framed in the seven-day creation story. For example, as noted by Catholic theologian Jeff Morrow (and summarized <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Mis-interpreting-Genesis-Creation-Misunderstands-ebook/dp/B08R35P84H/ref=sr_1_1?crid=26Q9ADZZ9XIJ3&amp;keywords=ben+stanhope&amp;qid=1663641534&amp;sprefix=ben+stanhope%2Caps%2C90&amp;sr=8-1">here</a>), “Gen 1:1 contains seven words; 1:2 has fourteen words (2&#215;7), and ‘God’ occurs thirty-five times (5&#215;7) in the seven-day account. The term ‘earth’ occurs twenty-one times (3&#215;7); ‘heavens/firmament’ twenty-one times (3&#215;7); the phrase ‘and it was so’ appears seven times, as well as the phrase, ‘God saw it was good.’”
This is just the tip of the iceberg, reminding us that there is more going on here than just a scientific summary of creation. Instead, an important story is being told, described in a 7 day sequence.
And this brings us to the crux of the matter.
In the midst of endless debate about Genesis 1, what is the one message we all recognize? What can every reader tell you after reading the chapter? They can tell you that, according to Genesis 1, God created the universe. And that is the whole point of the chapter.
Contrary to all the other ancient accounts of creation, multiple gods were not involved, only one God, the eternal God who reigned supreme.
And what can we learn about this God through Genesis 1?
After all, the reason that people in the ancient world wrote their creation accounts was not to teach science as much as it was to speak about their gods. What can we learn about the one true God by reading Genesis 1?
We learn He has no rivals or equals. We learn He brings light out of darkness and order out of chaos. We learn that He speaks, and it is done. We learn that He puts the seeds of re-creation within His creation, with everything producing after its own kind. And we learn human beings are uniquely created in His image and likeness, with a unique responsibility on the earth.
In short, we learn He is a God of redemption, of order, of power, of authority, and of purpose. That is just some of the message of Genesis 1.
To be sure, there are scientists like <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Genesis-Account-theological-historical-scientific/dp/1921643919/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32OX9ZZ97KTX1&amp;keywords=jonathan+sarfati&amp;qid=1663642411&amp;sprefix=jonathan+sarfati%2Caps%2C85&amp;sr=8-1">Jonathan Sarfati</a>, with a Ph.D. in chemistry, who are convinced Genesis supports a young earth, as well as scientists like <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Why-Universe-Way-Hugh-Ross-ebook/dp/B00CFKX6H2/ref=sr_1_5?crid=9HWOERE330BV&amp;keywords=hugh+ross&amp;qid=1663642460&amp;sprefix=hugh+ross%2Caps%2C83&amp;sr=8-5">Hugh Ross</a>, with a Ph.D. in astronomy, who are convinced it supports an old earth. And there are other top scholars, like Oxford professor and mathematician <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Seven-Days-That-Divide-World/dp/0310492173/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3B8Y0U9TABWFK&amp;keywords=lennox+seven+days&amp;qid=1663642318&amp;sprefix=lennox+seven+days%2Caps%2C91&amp;sr=8-1">John Lennox</a> or the late MIT nuclear physicist <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Science-God-Convergence-Scientific-Biblical/dp/1439129584/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1JNOJOUS39FIS&amp;keywords=gerald+schroder&amp;qid=1663642342&amp;sprefix=gerald+schroder%2Caps%2C80&amp;sr=8-2">Gerald Schroder</a>, who believe Genesis 1, rightly understood, is in full harmony with science.
That is for the scientists to debate.
For me, as a biblical scholar trained in ancient Near Eastern languages, my focus is on why Genesis 1 is in the Bible. 
The answer is, it intends to teach us about the nature and character of God. And that it does, exceedingly well.
Dr. Michael Brown (<a href="http://www.askdrbrown.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.askdrbrown.org</a>) is the host of the nationally syndicated <a href="http://www.lineoffireradio.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Line of Fire</a> radio program. He holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries and is the author of 40 books. Connect with him on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AskDrBrown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/DrMichaelLBrown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>, or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbINn3x-intLp88Zrf8acpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Holy Bible on a Wooden Table Under Dusk Sun Light

‘In The Beginning’: The Real Purpose Of The First Chapter Of Genesis

Science

Amid the chaos of the past two years, American evangelical Christianity has been infiltrated by social justice ideology, the worldview assumptions of cultural Marxism, and other philosophical flotsam that poses a threat to a simple adherence to the biblical doctrines that the Church has confessed through the ages.
Yet American Christians forget that the early part of the twentieth century likewise had a “Great Awokening” that came with its own skirmishes in the public square.
J. Gresham Machen — a New Testament scholar who helped to launch the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Westminster Theological Seminary — wrote his magnum opus, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Christianity-Liberalism-J-Gresham-Machen/dp/1948648539/ref=asc_df_1948648539/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=333503577727&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=10433733961213316485&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9007284&amp;hvtargid=pla-669822699745&amp;psc=1">Christianity and Liberalism</a>,” almost exactly one hundred years ago. The treatise profoundly dismantles the secularism that eroded many ministers’ profession of truths such as the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, the depravity of man, and the inspiration of the Bible.
Although most believers continue to read “Christianity and Liberalism” for wisdom on dealing with those who would syncretize evangelicalism with secularism, American Christians would benefit from considering Machen’s words on the education system — which he clearly treated as the front lines for the battles of his day.
Machen recognized that government education is the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/expressive-individualism-theologian-carl-trueman-explains-why-public-high-schools-keep-hosting-drag-shows">ideal mechanism</a> to separate children from their families and disrupt an upbringing rooted in the fear of God. As many parental rights activists are now discovering for the first time, American children are still <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-downplays-parents-rights-promises-to-fight-for-lgbtqi-youth-after-desantis-signs-bill">receiving indoctrination</a> rather than education.
<blockquote>“Place the lives of children in their formative years, despite the convictions of their parents, under the intimate control of experts appointed by the state, force them then to attend schools where the higher aspirations of humanity are crushed out, and where the mind is filled with the materialism of the day, and it is difficult to see how even the remnants of liberty can subsist. Such a tyranny, supported as it is by a perverse technique used as the instrument in destroying human souls, is certainly far more dangerous than the crude tyrannies of the past, which despite their weapons of fire and sword permitted thought at least to be free.”</blockquote>
Machen’s era followed the work of utilitarian social philosophers such as John Stuart Mill, who <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mill/">theorized</a> that education — as a democratic endeavor — ought to be a tool for the creation of “an enlightened public” knowledgeable enough to “discern who are those that know them better.” The education system of the twenty-first century, in the name of transmitting methods and processes rather than information, leaves students with nothing save the tools necessary to interpret and obey the authoritative knowledge handed down by experts.
<blockquote>“The object of education, it is now assumed, is the production of the greatest happiness for the greatest number. But the greatest happiness for the greatest number, it is assumed further, can be defined only by the will of the majority. Idiosyncrasies in education, therefore, it is said, must be avoided, and the choice of schools must be taken away from the individual parent and placed in the hands of the state.”</blockquote>
Once removed from the watchful eye of their parents, bureaucrats are free to manipulate children through methodologies like social-emotional learning so that they can absorb Critical Race Theory or transgender ideology — even to the extent that they wholly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/parent-group-sues-iowa-school-district-for-allegedly-hiding-childrens-gender-transitions">reject</a> their maleness or femaleness.
<blockquote>“The state then exercises its authority through the instruments that are ready to hand, and at once, therefore, the child is placed under the control of psychological experts, themselves without the slightest acquaintance with the higher realms of human life, who proceed to prevent any such acquaintance being gained by those who come under their care &#8230; The dominant tendency, even in a country like America, which formerly prided itself on its freedom from bureaucratic regulation of the details of life, is toward a drab utilitarianism in which all higher aspirations are to be lost.”</blockquote>
Robert Bortins — the CEO of Classical Conversations, a provider of homeschooling curriculum for Christian parents — explained to The Daily Wire that Machen was correct when he identified “an unparalleled impoverishment of human life” as the result of an education system stifled by secular government.
“When the public is free to be educated as they see fit, as opposed to government-funded education that controls institutions directly or indirectly, then the public can choose and pursue education that is best for the individual,” Bortins commented. “This will lead to freedom, and all the benefits and struggles related to choice and consequences.”
Rejecting the fact that the world was created — and indelibly bears the marks of its Creator — therefore produces chaos. 
“As Christians, we believe that Truth is a person, and that person is Jesus Christ. True education is the pursuit of knowing and making known truth, beauty, and goodness,” he said. “A rejection of orderliness for chaos is causing the record amount of depression and other impoverishment of human life we see in young people today. If we all have our own truth, then that leads to chaos.”
With the path to reformation in mind, Bortins rejects education savings accounts and other policies that allow conservatives to “win battles on the way to losing the war.”
“A faster and more sustainable way would be for private enterprise, the church, and families to work together to educate and leave the government doing what God designed the government to do,” he explained. “The good news is there are plenty of entities working towards this already, and all we must do is join in on their work.”
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Papers on desks by window in classroom

‘More Dangerous Than The Crude Tyrannies Of The Past’: A Profound Theologian’s Prophetic Warnings About Government Education

Education

Leftism

When we use the phrase, “God is in control,” what, exactly, do we mean? 

Do we mean that He orders and ordains everything that happens in this world, both the good and the bad? Or do we mean that, while human beings make their choices, God still works out His purposes? Or that He watches over His children in the midst of a chaotic world? Or is He really in control at all?
Before answering these questions, let me say that my purpose here is not to argue with an atheist or agnostic about the existence of God, nor is it to defend what the Bible says about God. Instead, I’m writing to those who believe that God is real and that the Bible is true. In that light, we can ask: to what extent does the Bible say that God is in control?
Let’s start by stating what the Bible does not say: It does not say that God initiates and orders each and everything that happens in this world. It does not say that God is the ultimate source of all evil and wickedness. It does not say that the Uvalde school massacre took place because God ordered the steps of the murderer.
On the contrary, throughout the Bible, God distances Himself from sinful human behavior, making clear that He stands against our rebellious actions. As expressed in Jeremiah 7:31 with regard to the children of Israel sacrificing children to the false god Molech, 
<blockquote>“And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.”</blockquote>
In essence, the Lord was saying here, This is the furthest thing from My mind and the very last thing I wanted you to do. You alone are responsible!
That’s why, when human beings choose to sin and rebel, it grieves God’s heart (see Genesis 6:5-6). And that’s why He calls us to make the right choices (rather than preordains all the choices we make). 
As Moses said on God’s behalf to the children of Israel, 
<blockquote>“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).</blockquote>
So, just as we cannot excuse our own sins with the old line, “The devil made me do it,” so also we cannot say, “God made me do it.” This would be the common person’s version of, God preordained my actions, so He is the ultimate cause of what I do.
As for what the Bible does say, it absolutely affirms that God is the King of the universe and all authority in heaven and earth is His. (After His resurrection, Jesus stated that the Father had given that authority to Him; see Matthew 28:18.)
That’s why the psalmist proclaimed, 
<blockquote>“Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.’” (Psalm 96:10)</blockquote>
God is sitting on His heavenly throne, not wishing and hoping, but rather ruling and reigning, holding the universe together, and working out His purposes on the earth in the midst of chaos and confusion. Let Satan and his demons rage. Let human beings rebel and blaspheme. God remains King. God still reigns. The world will exist exactly as long as God determines it will exist.
<ul>
<li>He has the ultimate power to wound and heal, to give life and to take it (Deuteronomy 32:39). </li>
<li>He forms light and creates darkness; He makes well-being and creates calamity (Isaiah 45:7). </li>
<li>He sets up kings and removes them (Daniel 2:21). </li>
<li>He warns of coming judgment and then brings it (Amos 3:6-7; Lamentations 3:37-38). </li>
</ul>
In the end, “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35)
That is the God of the Bible.
But how do we put these two pictures together, that of human freedom and that of divine sovereignty? The answer is simple but profound: He has chosen to give us a choice. He has decided that, to a point, we get to make our own decisions. And in the midst of all that, He is working out His will (Ephesians 1:11). He will let certain things go, in keeping with our freedom, but only so far. He has set parameters for His world.
As expressed by A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), 
<blockquote>“God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make it. If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, ‘What doest thou?’ Man’s will is free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign could not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures. He would be afraid to do so.” (The Knowledge of the Holy, chapter 22 “The Sovereignty of God.”)</blockquote>
At the same time, God remains in control in the sense that: 1) He can intervene at any point He chooses to do whatever He chooses to do; 2) in everything, at all times, He is working out His purposes on the earth, through both good and evil; 3) when it comes to His children who love Him and serve Him, whatever the devil or other people intend for evil against them, God will turn it for their good, either in this world or the world to come (Romans 8:28). In that sense, in the words of one of my pastoral colleagues, “Everything is Father-filtered.”
That means that however great the storm and however terrible the circumstances, as His children, we can put our trust in Him. He will bring light out of darkness, hope out of despair, and even life out of death.
He is all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing, and, when rightly understood, in full control. That is the God we serve and love.
Dr. Michael Brown (<a href="http://www.askdrbrown.org/">www.askdrbrown.org</a>) is the host of the nationally syndicated <a href="http://www.lineoffireradio.com/">Line of Fire</a> radio program. He holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries and is the author of 40 books. Connect with him on<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AskDrBrown"> Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/DrMichaelLBrown">Twitter</a>, or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbINn3x-intLp88Zrf8acpg">YouTube</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are the author&#8217;s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Readers Pass – Brown – Is God In Control_16x9

Is God In Control? What The Bible Does And Does Not Say

In the span of just a few weeks, The Daily Wire has had the unfortunate privilege of reporting on two separate drag queen shows in public high schools.
In one incident, a student club at Hempfield High School in Landisville, Pennsylvania, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-cant-believe-this-just-happened-parents-furious-after-drag-queen-dancers-hosted-at-pennsylvania-high-school">hosted multiple performers</a> at the high school without parents’ knowledge. The club’s co-adviser shared the performers’ Instagram accounts, all four of which included sexually suggestive content, with her students.
In the other, a student club at Ankeny High School in Ankeny, Iowa, welcomed at least <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/drag-queens-perform-at-iowa-high-school-give-students-pointers-on-gender-identity">two drag queens and one drag king</a> for its end-of-year meeting without authorization from administrators. One of the drag queens delivered a speech intended to help students navigate their gender identity “journey.”
Why are modern Americans so obsessed with their identities — especially in relation to sexuality and gender? And why do they feel the need to earn approval from their neighbors and from society at large — even children?
In an interview with The Daily Wire, Carl Trueman — professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College and author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Triumph-Modern-Self-Individualism/dp/1433556332">The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self</a>” — explained that a phenomenon called “expressive individualism” undergirds the high school drag shows.
“In brief compass, expressive individualism is the dominant way of thinking about identity in the modern Western world,” Trueman said. “Essentially, the expressive individualist intuits that the true self is that which we are inside, the inner emotions and psychological feelings that we experience.”
The authentic individual, according to Trueman, is, therefore, one who “is able to act out in public that which they feel inwardly.”
“It also leads to the situation where society as a whole is required to affirm that person in that public performance since failure to do so is, in effect, to deny that someone is who they think they are,” he continued. “That, in a nutshell, is where the Western world is today.”
The remarkable authority granted to feelings linked with sex and gender is derived from the last few hundred years of Western philosophy and transmitted through cultural artifacts — even if the average American may not be consciously aware of it.
“Intellectually, this has its roots in the impact of the thought of figures such as Sigmund Freud, Wilhelm Reich, and, more recently, Michel Foucault and Judith Butler,” Trueman said. “But few people read these characters — more relevant to the man or woman in the street is the way the message of a highly sexualized expressive individualism is preached by commercials, movies, soap operas, and sitcoms.”
Why, in particular, do LGBTQ activists attempt to spread their worldview among young people? “Children are the perfect target for groups whose purpose is the subversion of the parent-child bond and the consequent strengthening of the power of a progressive establishment,” Trueman commented.
Indeed, the relationship between parent and child is perhaps the most important in society — and its dissolution creates tremendous opportunities for the entrance of a new regime.
“Destroy the bond between parents and children and you have destroyed the most powerful and influential pre-political bond of influence and loyalty that stands in the way of the various lobby groups trying to drive the direction of our culture,” Trueman concluded.

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‘Expressive Individualism’: Theologian Carl Trueman Explains Why Public High Schools Keep Hosting Drag Shows

Theologian Carl Trueman Diagnoses Why High Schools Keep Hosting Drag Queens

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All the trouble and inconvenience that came with 2020’s string of calamities could actually have one surprising benefit: it might deal a death blow to America’s obsession with flippant, man-centered, self-serving, and fraudulent religion.
I’m thinking of trends like so-called “seeker-driven Christianity,” the irreverent brand of entertainment-as-religion that has dominated evangelical megachurches for three decades or longer. Some of the best-known seeker churches boast massive congregations, but they haven’t actually met in person for almost a full year. Their leaders say they have no plans to resume public meetings until fears about the coronavirus are gone from the talking points of secular society. That makes perfect sense — for them. They have followed and imitated the culture for so long, how could they credibly resist the current drift?
There is also a long list of famous charismatic televangelists and self-styled “prophets” who have obliterated whatever small shred of believability they might once have had. A year ago they were assuring their viewers that they had already declared and decreed the end of COVID-19. And then, even as the virus continued to dominate the news, they boldly announced that the Lord had told them Donald Trump would be re-elected. After the votes were counted and certified, most of the best-known charismatic soothsayers still insisted Trump would be inaugurated for a second term in January. Such a string of highly publicized embarrassments should make it hard from now on to find gullible people willing to buy their preposterous claims. And that’s a good thing.
It’s also frankly not going to be easy to keep selling the lie of “Your Best Life Now” to people who for the past year have endured various degrees of isolation, deprivation, persecution, job loss, and political strife — with wars and rumors of war in the streets of American cities.
All such brands of quasi-Christianity are frivolous substitutes for legitimate religion anyway. They lack the solemnity, stability, and sobriety that should characterize authentic devotion to God.
Full disclosure: I write as an evangelical. But let’s face it: shallow superficiality has been the bane of American evangelicalism for decades now. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the contemporary evangelical movement has been a pathological craving for entertainment rather than edification. For many, this is the only flavor of religion they have ever known.
In his 1985 book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman lamented the passing of what he called “the Age of Exposition,” and he observed that the current era might aptly be named “the Age of Show Business.” Knowledge, understanding, and real wisdom have declined rapidly and measurably — mostly owing to our culture’s addiction to amusement. The rise of postmodernism since the 1980s has only magnified (exponentially) the problems Postman was pointing out.
He was warning about trends in the culture at large. But those same evil tendencies have wreaked havoc across the spectrum of American religion. Evangelicals have not been exempt, because of their determination to follow (rather than confront and correct) the destructive tendencies of secular society. As a matter of fact, over the past few decades, popular evangelicalism has become perhaps the most glaring and garish — and inappropriate — manifestation of society’s self-destructive craving for amusement.
In the Age of Exposition, evangelicals made the pulpit the centerpiece of the church. Both the seating arrangement and the order of service stressed this. The preacher was expected to open the Word of God and teach from it. Church services had a sense of gravitas and dignity. The goal was not to be carefree and casual, but practically the polar opposite. The point of the worship service was to meet with a transcendent God and reverently pay homage — not to pretend we have a superhero-style friend in heaven whose whole reason for being is to affirm us and make us happy.
Today’s churches are purposely designed to look and feel like theaters. Instead of a pulpit, the centerpiece is a stage. Churches employ full-time media specialists, programming consultants, directors, drama coaches, special-effects experts, choreographers, and promoters. Light shows and smoke machines are widely considered essential liturgical implements for a properly postmodernized Sunday church service.
In sharp contrast, the church meetings described in the New Testament had just four essentials: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer (Acts 2:42). But anyone raised in evangelical circles over the past half century probably considers that a lame agenda.
Jesus’ Great Commission was, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). That is not a marketing manifesto. The church is not a business whose task is to promote a product to consumers. Worship is not a spectator sport where the size of the crowd is a key measure of success. The church is supposed to be a gathering of the faithful to exalt the glory of God. “Sin and righteousness and judgment” are essential themes of the message Christians are supposed to convey to the world (John 16:8). But those topics are deliberately omitted from most of the sermons preached in evangelical churches nowadays.
Instead, it seems American religion has wholeheartedly embraced a kind of lighthearted culture-driven pragmatism, where the central goal is to be cool and stylish; gain attention, admiration, and applause from people steeped in secular culture; and attract massive crowds by giving people what they want (“meeting their felt needs,” in the parlance of seeker-sensitivity).
Scripture says it is a mark of apostasy when preachers cater to people who will not tolerate sound biblical teaching but demand to have their ears tickled with half-truths and fables.
Nevertheless, church leaders in recent years have seemingly put no limits on how far they will go in pursuit of mass appeal. The ultimate fruit of that philosophy has ranged from beat poetry to crass slapstick. Churches have literally put on every kind of spectacle from rodeos to wrestling matches in their Sunday services. Preachers are purposely glib. They talk about the gospel — some of them mention it a lot. But they don’t actually proclaim it.
Again, I’m describing a style of religion that has been spreading like leaven through the evangelical movement for decades. And when a worldwide health crisis brought all of society to a screeching halt last year, churches whose driving purpose had been to convene the largest possible crowds were left with no achievable goal, no legitimate function, and no answers for their anxious and apprehensive neighbors.
The gospel Christians are commissioned by their Lord to proclaim includes the good news that God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, became a flesh-and-blood human Himself, “[so] that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Who could possibly miss the fact that “fear of death” has literally been the controlling factor in government policies, news reports, economic trends, and almost every level of human activity worldwide for the past year? Scripture gives us a clear and effectual remedy for that fear. And the church’s chief duty with regard to society at large is the proclamation of that message.
Christians: let’s devote our energies to that task.
Dr. John MacArthur is the pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. He is the author of more than 400 books, a featured teacher with the Grace to You media ministry (<a href="http://gty.org/">gty.org</a>), and is chancellor of The Master’s University and Seminary.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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MacArthur: The End of Frivolous Religion?

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