In mid-February, conservative talk radio personality Rush Limbaugh died of lung cancer; he was 70 years old. Ross Douthat captures his importance: He “was probably the most influential figure among the men who defined conservatism after Ronald Reagan. He was the presiding genius of a media revolution that still reverberates today—on your podcast as much as talk radio.” But Limbaugh as a cultural phenomenon needs to be placed in a historical context.

Paul prays for the Holy Spirit’s transforming power, for Jesus to be the controlling force in our lives and for the capacity to fully understand and know the riches of God and His love.

Equality: An important and foundational term in America’s democratic–republic, central to our founding documents—the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Jefferson’s triumphant declaration, “all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights . . .” is complemented by the Bill of Rights, which articulates the equal rights that all citizens are guaranteed. Equality is also an important biblical concept.

Paul explains the “mystery” of Jew and Gentile sharing equally in New Covenant blessings in the church.

Paul describes the unified body of Christ—Jew and Gentile together—as a new kingdom, a new family and a new Temple.

A major premise of Scripture is that leaders are always called to a higher standard. Indeed, spiritual leaders in the church and in ministry are called to be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2). Leaders in ministry are to be servant leaders, modeling the biblical truths they espouse (see Philippians 2:5-11, Luke 22:21-30 and John 13:1-17). Leaders are to avoid even the “appearance of evil” in their lifestyles and in their words (1 Thessalonians 5:22). For that reason, when a spiritual leader falls its effect is catastrophic.

Virtually everyone agrees that a democratic society must maintain a high degree of trust or the democratic institutions that undergird that society will collapse. As we begin 2021, the American democratic-republic is in a serious crisis—a crisis of trust. Trust takes many forms. People may trust each other but distrust institutions like the federal government or mainstream media, for example. Furthermore, COVID-19 is testing America’s institutions in ways not seen for decades. Trust in government in America in 2021 is fairly low compared with some other wealthy societies.

An extended discussion on legalism vs. grace.

In 1947 C.S. Lewis published The Abolition of Man, in which he charted the “negation of human dignity in the name of progress.” He lived long enough to see the accuracy of his assessment: “For the power of Man to make himself what he pleases means, as we have seen, the power of some men to make other men what they please.” Transhumanism comes close to fulfilling Lewis’s warning about the “negation of humanity.” It is a philosophy or ideology that aims to control and transform the human species using bio technologies, in order to eliminate suffering, disease, aging and death.

Paul contrasts our past (“dead in our sins”) with now being “alive to God” by grace through faith in Jesus.