Featured Issues
America Is Gambling With Its Future
In late June, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the federal debt will equal 122% of the United States’ annual economic output by 2034, far surpassing the high set in the aftermath of World War II. The deficit will swell to $1.9 trillion this fiscal year and keep growing until the overall national debt hits $50.7 trillion a decade from now. The CBO revised its forecast from four months ago, when it projected that the debt would reach $48.3 trillion in 2034, and 116 percent of economic output. The new figures add to the urgency facing policymakers in 2025. Next year, vast portions of the tax code are set to expire, potentially forcing a steep tax hike on individuals and families. Congress suspended the debt limit in 2023, but that, too, will expire next year, setting up a showdown between the two parties over federal spending.
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About IIP
James P. Eckman (Jim) is President Emeritus and Professor in Bible and History at Grace University in Omaha, Nebraska. He has been at Grace since 1983. He holds the following degrees:
- B.S., Millersville University of Pennsylvania (1969)
- M.A., Lehigh University (1973)
- Th.M. (with honor), Dallas Theological Seminary (1983)
- Ph.D., University of Nebraska–Lincoln (1989)
He has also completed additional postgraduate work at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He received the Charles A. Nash Award in Historical Theology while at Dallas Seminary. [Read More]
Featured Issues
Israel And Iran: Once Friends, Now Enemeies
In April of 2024, Iran launched a series of unprecedented drone and missile strikes against Israel, raising the specter of a war that could incinerate large parts of the Middle East, collapse the global economy and eventually involve the United States and other major powers. For now both Israel and Iran have avoided further escalation but no one really believes that this will last. Karim Sadjadpour, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, speculates that “As long as Iran is ruled by an Islamist government that puts its revolutionary ideology before the national interest, the two countries will never know peace, and the Middle East will never know meaningful stability.”
Thinking About Climate As A Christian
Because God is the Creator, He owns everything (see Psalm 50:10-12). And, as the Sovereign Creator and Owner, He gives us all things that are a part of life, trusts us with them and expects us to manage all things well. He is the owner; we are His stewards. A biblical view of stewardship, therefore, centers on utilizing and managing all the resources God provides for His glory and the betterment of His creation; it is managing everything He brings into our lives in a manner that honors Him.
Bible Study Podcast
1 John 5:6-21 John summarizes the testimonies to Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God; and then how our faith in Him affects our praying and our walk with God.
Culture & Wordview
America Is Gambling With Its Future In late June, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the federal debt will equal 122% of the United States’ annual economic output by 2034, far surpassing the high set in the aftermath of World War II. The deficit will swell to $1.9 trillion this fiscal year and keep growing until the overall national debt hits $50.7 trillion a decade from now. The CBO revised its forecast from four months ago, when it projected that the debt would reach $48.3 trillion in 2034, and 116 percent of economic output. The new figures add to the urgency facing policymakers in 2025. Next year, vast portions of the tax code are set to expire, potentially forcing a steep tax hike on individuals and families. Congress suspended the debt limit in 2023, but that, too, will expire next year, setting up a showdown between the two parties over federal spending.
Ethics
AI Technology: The New Intellectual Revolution And Ethics The Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is upon us. It is a transformation of human thought and interaction with machines unprecedented in human history. Many are talking about AI but few understand it and even fewer are wrestling with the ethical implications of this revolution. Recently, Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and Daniel Huttenlocher, Dean of the Schwarzman College of Computing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published an article in the Wall Street Journal that profoundly impacted me personally.
