Today, yoga is part of a global wellness industry worth $25 billion. Alistair Shearer, a historian of Yoga, demonstrates that “in the US alone, the number of people doing yoga shot from 4 million in 2001 to more than 37 million by 2016.” Yoga today is associated with physical fitness, good health and clean living; 80% of yoga practitioners today are women. But few know that yoga has its roots in ancient and medieval India in the worldview known as Hinduism.

The COVID-19 virus has disrupted our lives and devastated the American and indeed the world economy. No one can authoritatively declare when we will return to any semblance of “normal.” But, as with all things in life, are there lessons we can learn? Among many other things, it once again demonstrates how fragile life really is. It also demonstrates that if we trust in material things (e.g., our job, our wealth, our health) for our security, it can vanish almost instantly. I believe it is important and thoroughly biblical for us to learn from historical events.

In 2020, American civilization is witnessing a thorough-going accommodation to the LGBTQIA agenda. [LGBTQIA=Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer (i.e., questioning their sexual identity), Intersex (i.e., those born gender-ambiguous), Asexual (i.e., sexuality is ill-defined)]. There is no longer significant discussion about the ethical values, virtues or standards associated with human sexuality.

The United States is embarking upon an experiment in borrowing without precedent, as the government and corporations take on trillions of dollars of debt to offset the economic damage from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Year 2020 so far has been chaotic and, some would say, cataclysmic. The COVID-19 virus, the economic and financial collapse of the world economy, and the poisonous politics of our nation have caused disruption to our lives. But there have also been remarkable demonstrations of compassion, creative ways to maintain communication during the isolation (e.g., Zoom) and astonishing acts of generosity across America and the world. The events of this year have also caused me to think deeply about the church of Jesus Christ.

Rosaria Butterfield, former tenured professor at Syracuse University and former radical lesbian feminist, came to know Jesus Christ through the love and compassion of a pastor and his wife stretching over three years. She describes her conversion as a “train wreck,” for God had to dismantle her entire worldview, replacing it with the worldview detailed in Scripture. Butterfield is now married to a pastor in North Carolina, is a homeschooling mother and continues using her giftedness as a writer and speaker. She recently summarized a question and answer session she was hosting on a college campus in which she detailed her conversion to Jesus Christ.

Vladimir Putin has been president of Russia since 2000, with a short stint as Prime Minister so that he could stay in power. He has solidified his grasp on power since then and, in many ways, already has dictatorial power. He now seeks to enhance that power with a distinct power grab in Russia. On 10 March, the Duma, Russia’s parliament, voted to approve constitutional changes proposed by Putin, and added one that resets the number of terms he can serve. Under the current constitution, he would need to stand down in 2024; under the new arrangement, he could rule until 2036, perhaps longer.

Baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are retiring in record numbers and are living longer. Because high-income workers have experienced faster wage growth than the rest of the population, a greater share of US wages is now exempt from the payroll tax, which stops at $132,900. Result? A smaller tax base to fund Social Security benefits. Thus, Social Security costs are projected to exceed income next year for the first time since 1982, forcing the program to dip into its nearly $3 trillion trust fund, built up when payroll taxes exceeded benefits.

As I write this, it is difficult to accurately read the psychological state of Americans right now. We have had weeks of forced isolation throughout much of the nation and the nearly universal practice of social distancing. All of this goes against our human nature: God made us for community and COVID-19 is challenging this fundamental axiom of the human condition. Consequently, for nearly all of us, we are experiencing a profound loss of freedom accompanied by a genuine fear and sense of danger posed by the virus. The result is often a measure of emotional stress, confusion and fear. Let’s think biblically about all this.

Human depravity distorts and twists everything, creating chaos and disorder in the culture and its institutions. The first and most important institution God created was marriage and the family (see Genesis 2). What is it current condition? In our democratic-republic, education is intended to be a cooperative and dynamic enterprise involving the public school and parents. What is the condition of the public school movement? The state, an institution created by God to promote justice and thwart evil (see Romans 12:1-10), has taken on the role of a “savior,” ostensibly taking the risk out of living. The family, education, the state—each has been impacted by the depths of human depravity.