New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recently reported that about one-third of American girls become pregnant as teenagers. He further summarizes some other staggering statistics:

With the controversy between Jews and Muslims over the 37-acre compound called Temple Mount brewing these last few months, the Palestinian Liberation Organization made an extraordinary decision that defies all logic and history: The name used by Jews for this site?Temple Mount?the PLO declared to be ?null and void.? They stipulated that the site can only be called Al Aqsa Mosque or the Noble Sanctuary. [A lesser known Arabic name for the site is Bait al-Maqdis, ?house of the holy.?] For Islam, this is where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven, where his role as Allah?s Prophet was affirmed. The controversy over the site the Jews call Temple Mount is over more than sovereignty or the title of the site.

Having children through surrogacy is increasingly common in the United States, especially the practice of paying women to carry a baby for you. But, other than the United States, only a few countries (e.g., India, Thailand, Ukraine, Mexico) permit paid surrogacy. Thus, there is a significant and growing number of people?generally affluent people?who are coming to the US from Europe, Asia and Australia to have a child via surrogacy. Indeed, as Tamar Lewin of the New York Times reports, ?many large surrogacy agencies in the United States say international clients?gay, straight, married or single?provide the bulk of their business.?

The mantra of ?settled science? when it comes to climate change is uttered on the national media, by President Obama and by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). For these folks the matter is settled; there is no more need for debate or discussion on the causes of climate change. For them, the next urgent matter is a change in public policy that immediately mandates significant reductions in greenhouse emissions (e.g., from the burning of coal). Is it ?settled science?? Do we need aggressive laws that reduce carbon emissions? What should public policy be when it comes to managing climate change?

The Youth Ministry model American churches have followed since World War II has not been a terribly effective one. It has not enhanced parent-teen relationships and has actually fostered a superficial, shallow Christianity among many young adults. Consciously or unconsciously, when children reach age 12 or so, parents ?hand them off? to the youth leader, in effect saying, ?I?m done; now you take over.? Often this model stresses fun, huge events (e.g., ski trips, retreats, wild antics, and occasional mission trips), but has little focus on the Bible, mentoring or a disciplined walk with God.

The emergence of the Islamic State (aka ISIS or ISIL) is an important development within militant Islam. Since 9/11 America?s terrorist focus has been on al Qaeda, but no longer. We are learning more about ISIS and it is now possible to place this radical Islamic faction in context with a clear ideology and doctrine.

On Monday, 6 October 2014, the US Supreme Court let stand appeals court rulings permitting same-sex marriage in five states?Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. Such decisions by the Court are done without explanation, as was this decision. But the silence of the Court here is deafening, for it sends a decisive signal that the accommodation to same-sex marriage is virtually complete within American culture and law. This action by the Court increased the number of states permitting same-sex marriage to 24. This will expand quickly to others.

Anyone who is involved in education or in pastoral ministry has observed that over the last several decades the family has been undergoing enormous stress and change. And the children who attend school or get involved in the church or Sunday school manifest the consequences of these changes. I recently came across a briefing paper for the Council on Contemporary Families written by Philip Cohen of the University of Maryland. It is a masterful summary of the new normal for families in the United States.

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

ISIS or ISIL (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria [or in the Levant]) is arguably the most dangerous and ruthless expression of the doctrine of Islamic jihad in modern times. ISIS (or what is now more commonly referred to as simply the Islamic State) is a breakaway from al Qaeda and can only be understood in contrast to al Qaeda. Understanding ISIS is the main thrust of this edition of Issues in Perspective.