As we begin 2018, I believe it is appropriate to give focus to a critical cultural issue that is destroying men, marriages and contributing in no small way to the denigration of women and children in our society. Several years ago, a local church in Omaha, Nebraska, where I live, asked me to do a presentation on pornography. I called the presentation ?Pornography: Adultery of the Heart.? I believe that the pornography crisis in our country has much more to do with what it means to be a man than simply an issue of lust and gross immorality. It is a result of the disastrous lies that our culture promotes about manhood. Joe Ehrmann has summarized those three lies:

In early December, President Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He also stated that his intent is to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He did not say when he would do that. But that Jerusalem is Israel?s capital is an established fact. The state of Israel has regarded Jerusalem as its capital since its War of Independence in 1948. West Jerusalem is the seat of Israel?s president, prime minister, Supreme Court and most government ministries.

In this Postmodern, Post-Christian age where a secular skepticism reigns supreme, one often hears the question, where is God; if He exists, why doesn?t He show Himself? Or, where is God in the carnage of the civil wars in Syria and Yemen? Where is God in the devastation of the summer hurricanes that ravaged the Caribbean, Texas and Florida? Where is God in the death of a relative or a close friend? Where is God in that universal equalizer of all humanity?death? Where was God in that backwater town 2,000 years ago where a poor, pregnant woman was denied lodging, in the smell of hay and manure, in the pain of childbirth, in the escape to Egypt?

American civilization in 2017 is living with the results of the sexual revolution of the 20th century. Few would disagree with the conclusion that we live in a sex-saturated culture with few boundaries. Pornography abounds and is institutionalized on the Internet and in all forms of entertainment.

Gender Dysphoria is generally explained as distress caused by a mismatch between felt and perceived gender identity?between the sex on the birth certificate and how one feels. The Williams Institute, a Los Angeles think-tank, estimates that 1.4 million Americans (0.06% of those aged 16-65) are transgender. According to The Economist, ?young people say that gender matters less than it used to, which sits oddly with the spreading belief that gender dysphoria can be severe enough to justify the upheaval and risks of transitioning.? Furthermore, ?gender identity? in 2017 has come to mean how people feel or present themselves, as distinct from biological sex or sexual orientation.

The clear teaching of the Bible is that all humans are sinners and in need of God?s grace. Historically in the United States, evangelical Christians have agreed with these propositions and have faithfully proclaimed the Gospel. Consistently, evangelicals have been known as people who oppose ?worldliness,? the tendency to adopt and condone the world?s assumptions and its worldview. By its nature, the Gospel is countercultural and evangelicals have adopted that lifestyle and perspective. But as evangelical Christian, William S. Brewbaker III, law professor at the University of Alabama, has so eloquently concluded, ?Today?s evangelicals have mostly abandoned those limitations, but we seem especially blind to other kinds of worldliness. Evangelical politicians fall prey to the allure of money, sex and power at the same rates as just about everyone else . . .?

On 7 November 1917 (25 October 1917 by the old Russian calendar) a group of ideological communists (called Bolsheviks) led an uprising that led to the Bolsheviks seizing power and establishing the first major communist government in history. During the years of the Soviet Union, this date was lavishly celebrated as The Great October Socialist Revolution. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of that totalitarian dictatorship, Russians have been confused about how to recognize this important date in their history. This year, 2017, one would expect there to be significant celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. But 7 November 2017 was merely recognized as ?the revolution of 1917 in Russia.? No major celebrations or national events were scheduled.

On 2 November 1917, a letter was delivered to the Jewish community of Great Britain by the British government committing His Majesties Government to the creation of a ?national home? in Palestine for the Jewish people. This ?declaration? changed the course of history. For that reason, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel?s Prime Minister, attended a dinner in London on 2 November 2017 with Theresa May, Britain’s Prime Minister, to celebrate the issuing of this letter 100 years ago. Lord Balfour, a descendant of the man who sent the letter, now called the Balfour Declaration, also attended. The Palestinians regard this Declaration as a ?great betrayal? and Mahmoud Abbas has demanded that Great Britain apologize for this Declaration, not celebrate it.

Until quite recently, if someone mentioned ?conservative? it was rather clear what that meant?generally a commitment to limited government, individual liberty, and free trade. In 2017 the meaning of ?conservative? is no longer clear. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas recently wrote: ?Last year, for the first time in our nation?s history, the American people elected as president someone with no high government experience?not a senator, not a congressman, not a governor, not a cabinet secretary, not a general. They did this, I believe, because they?ve lost faith in both the competence and the intentions of our governing class?of both parties! . . .?

Chinese President Xi Jinping is clearly the most powerful Chinese leader in 40 years. As I am writing this the Chinese Communist Party Congress is occurring and that body has enshrined President Xi and his writings into the Chinese Constitution. Only founder Mao Tse-tung had received such an honor. A major concern of President Xi, himself an ardent atheist, is the spiritual void caused by decades of official atheism along with China?s current headlong pursuit of wealth and prosperity.