The recent conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is a portent of a much more serious crisis looming on the horizon for Israel. It is a crisis that has political, military and profound security implications for Israel. In this edition of Issues in Perspective, I seek to place this entire conflict in a proper context.

As I am writing this, the 2012 national election is only days away. With the ridiculously long primary season, we have been in this presidential cycle for nearly two years! That this is one of the more important elections in recent memory is a given. Whoever becomes the next president and whoever is elected to the House and the Senate will face challenges of historic proportion . . . It is imperative that we remember we will also be voting for other national offices. In addition, we will vote for state officials and local officials, all of whom will represent us at various levels . . . In this Perspective I offer several broad guidelines and principles. Much of my analysis will focus on the presidency, all the while remembering that there are other significant offices for which we will vote.

Of all the challenges Christians face in defending their faith, the existence of evil is one of the most formidable. We claim that God is good, yet there is suffering, pain and monstrous acts of barbarity. Add to that the existence of mass murderers, serial killers and the monotonous regularity of murder in our cities. Evil has a deep, penetrating darkness to it and, when it comes to personal motivation of those who do evil, there is an almost impenetrable wall that defies investigation

For the first time since the European settlement of North America in the early 1600s, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Protestants are in a minority. The Pew report shows that where 53% of respondents identified themselves as Protestant in 2007, in 2012 only 48% do so. This decline comes primarily from white evangelical and mainline Protestant Christians, but is especially pronounced among mainline churches. Entitled ??Nones? on the Rise,? the report is an important indicator on the state of American religion in 2012. Here is a salient summary of the report:

Together with Psalm 1, Psalm 2 introduces the major themes of the book of Psalms, the hymnbook of ancient Israel. Psalm 1 teaches that the blessed human being is the one who enjoys the ?sumptuous meal? of God?s Word each day?and then meditates on it throughout the day. Psalm 2 helped the ancient Israelites to understand how they fit into God?s big picture. It is about worldview issues. Together, these two Psalms give focus to what is really important to God. . . Finally, Psalm 19 is the perfect introduction to thinking about science, for it argues for the complementarity of God?s two revelations?His world and His Word.

Human effort marks the world’s religion, not faith in a God who solved the fundamental problem of the human condition in Christ. Yet, religion, as I am defining it in this essay, continues to dominate the world scene. In fact, religion seems to be growing – and with it a growing hostility and intolerance. When one combines meritorious religion with political, military and financial power, you have a lethal combination. This has been much of the narrative through human history – and it continues today. Let’s consider modern Islam as an example. Several thoughts.

Recently a Harvard Divinity School scholar, Karen L. King, published a paper, provocatively entitled, ?The Gospel of Jesus? Wife,? on a 4th century 1 ½ by 3 inch Coptic papyrus scrap that, she argues, contains the phrase, ?Jesus said to them, ?My wife. . . .?? Indeed, she announced her research in the Vatican?s front yard at a Coptic Studies conference at the Catholic Church?s Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum in Rome?Written in Coptic, an Egyptian language that uses Greek letters, the fragment is in the opinion of several scholars who have seen it, not a forgery. What should we make of this papyrus scrap? Does it provide evidence that Jesus did indeed have a wife? How should we think about this provocative thesis? Several thoughts.

At the last minute during their convention, the Democratic Party added the name of God back into its platform. At the Republican Party convention, Republicans invoked the name of God 12 times. Since platforms and conventions are now more about symbolism than substance in our political culture, is this contrast between the political parties important? Actually, no. But there is a much larger issue at stake here. In so many ways, faith in the state and its benevolence is replacing faith in God. In some ways, this is the most important issue facing our culture today. Let me explain.

Evangelical Christians are often charged with preaching the doom-and-gloom of the coming apocalypse predicted in Revelation. There is little doubt that this teaching is often overdramatized. But there is an environmental apocalypse that also needs critical evaluation. Since 1972, we have been told that environmental disaster is imminent and those warnings are usually accompanied by the language of the apocalypse. Such predictions framed in apocalyptic language have spawned much of the modern environmental movement. How should we think about this?

Many scientists begin their thinking with the proposition that there is a God; others do not. For example, physicists and others who practice science have been looking for a ?Theory of Everything,? a theory that explains everything in the universe. That was the passion of Newton in the 17th century, Einstein in the 20th, and currently Brian Greene in the 21st century. Greene?s contribution is the ?string theory,? postulated in his important book, The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory. He posits that the universe consists of a complicated combination of vibrating strands or strings. The language of his book resonates with the language of awe, majesty and near worship. But he leaves out God.