In 1933 a group of thirty-four liberal US humanists drafted the “Humanist Manifesto I,” which for its time was a radical document. Committed to reason, science and democracy, the document rejected orthodox and dogmatic positions and argued for a “new statement of the means and purposes of religion.” [Paul Kurtz, ed., The Humanist Manifesto I and II, Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1973, p. 8] The Manifesto maintained that the universe is “self-existing and not created,” explained only by the evolutionary hypothesis. The Manifesto affirmed that the human race is the center of all things and that religion must be redefined in these terms. Finally, the Manifesto rejected capitalism and affirmed some kind of socialist order as the wave of the future.

The “image” and “likeness” of God is not a human achievement, but a gift conferred on all humans through God’s creative act. According to Genesis 1, God’s creative activity reached its apex on Day 6, when the divine counsel determined to create man in God’s “image” (tselem) and “likeness” (demut). [Theologians call this the imago Dei.] These two terms define the first and fundamental truth about the human race: That humanity was created in God’s “image”, which means that humans represent God. Humans have the capacity to mirror God in everything—and are commanded to do so.

When the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy of the early 20th century was brewing, one of Christianity’s greatest minds, J. Gresham Machen, published a book in 1921 entitled Christianity and Liberalism. In my judgment, it remains one of the most important books of the 20th century. It is relevant today for we who name the name of Christ believe that the Christian faith is not only a faith commitment to Jesus Christ, but is also a set of doctrinal beliefs.

When the dignity of all humanity is disregarded, relegated or unintentionally overlooked by those in the body of Christ, the name of our God is disparaged. Believers are to mirror God: He loves all human beings; He values their existence and seeks to recognize their value as His image-bearers. God honors all human beings and has a vested interest in who they are as His creatures. He grants humans dignity and honors each one with responsible freedom. His protection of all humanity is reflected in His providential care (i.e., His common grace); in His love for them; and in His provision for their redemption through Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus victoriously declared, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”[ESV] Yet, as we view the church in North America, victory does not seem to be the correct term to use. The church is in decline; toxic politics, discord over responding to COVID, and leadership failures are ripping it apart. At one level, discouragement, defeat and discord are more characteristic terms to describe the church in America. For some, the American church has lost its way; lost its passion; lost its power.

I have never appreciated Hollywood’s depiction of Jesus. Such movies, usually shown around the Easter season, seem superficial, contrived and lacking in authenticity. Other than Ben Hur, I have never watched an entire Hollywood movie on the subject of Jesus. But, there is a new movie series that I find compelling, authentic and stimulating. It is the [proposed] seven-part series, The Chosen, created, directed and co-written by American filmmaker Dallas Jenkins. First aired in 2019, it is the highest popularly-funded film project of all time.

History teaches us lessons that we should learn both individually and as a nation. Whether we study the decline of the Athenian democracy in the 5th century BC, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, or the tragic demise the British Empire, wise American leaders can learn from the decline of these giants of human history. Furthermore, the Bible is filled with narrative history (e.g., 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles), which wise leaders should observe and apply. For most of our national leaders right now, history is irrelevant.

Genuine biblical Christianity is called by its founder, Jesus Christ, to be His salt and light (see Matthew 5:13-16) and to be “in the world but not of the world” (John 17:13-18). We do so by putting on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) with the deep conviction that “He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). We represent His values, His virtues and His standards. We are to be peacemakers, seeking not vengeance, but justice, mercy and forgiveness (Matthew 5:9; 5:38-48). We are not the agents of chaos, dysfunction or disorder. We love our enemies and forgive them because we have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32).

I receive a daily devotional from Chuck Swindoll in my Inbox. Recently his devotional entitled, “Greatness,” focused on “we become what we think.” Indeed, Proverbs 23:7 declares, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” He writes: “The secret of living a life of excellence is merely a matter of thinking thoughts of excellence. Really, it’s a matter of programming our minds with the kind of information that will set us free . . . Our minds were originally enemy-held territories. We were blinded by the power of the enemy. The mind was his ‘base of operations’ until the light shone within . . . And what is God’s ultimate goal? To take ‘every thought captive’ . . . His plan is to transform the old thoughts that defeat us into new thoughts that encourage us.”

The Tulsa race massacre (aka the Black Wall Street Massacre, the Greenwood Massacre) took place 31 May and 1 June 1921, when mobs of white residents, many of them deputized and given weapons by city officials, attacked Black residents and businesses in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It marks one of “the single worst incident(s) of racial violence in American history.”