Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia founded in the 1980s, has been an ongoing nemesis for Israel on its northern border. It has fought brief conflicts with Israel (most recently in 2006) and has amassed an arsenal of rockets all aimed at Israeli cities and settlements. But over the last five years, Hezbollah has expanded its operations and is no longer merely a Lebanese militia; it has become a regional power of import in the Middle East. Perhaps more importantly, it has become one of the key instruments of Iran in building a powerful Shiite corridor from Iran to the Mediterranean.

It is time in American civilization to recognize the self-destructive nature of both public policy and private behavior when it comes to the institution of marriage, the first institution God created (see Genesis 2:18-25). It is without question an institution in trouble. In this Perspective, I hope to address the institution itself in terms of history and then suggest a biblical theology of marriage.

I have been involved with the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) since I took a few post-doctoral classes at what was then Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. One of those classes was taught by Dr. Wayne Grudem, one of America?s foremost theologians and New Testament scholars. He is a founder and leader of CBMW. . . (which) has just released The Nashville Statement, a statement on ?biblical sexuality.? Denny Burk, president of CBMW, declared that ?the aim of The Nashville Statement is to shine a light into the darkness?to declare the goodness of God?s design in our sexuality and in creating us as male and female.?

When I was in graduate school, the reigning view of the future was the domination of Japan economically and financially ?in Asia and in the West. There was the fear of Japan buying more and more American real estate, of overwhelming American automobile makers and American electronics firms. Rarely do you hear of those projections anymore. Rather, it is China as the future economic, financial and military power of Asia?and of the world. China is positioning itself as the next superpower. In the words of Judith Shapiro, ?the Chinese era is upon us.?

I recently read Rod Dreher?s somewhat challenging and provocative book, The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation. From my vantage point, Dreher?s analysis of North American culture and specifically the evangelical church is spot on. He writes: ?The most pressing problem Christianity faces is not in politics. It?s in parishes. It?s with the pastors. Most of all, it?s among an increasingly faithless people.? The truth is Christianity is declining in the United States. He makes the following observations, supported by statistical data and other pieces of evidence:

In early August, James Damore, a software engineer at the Silicon Valley giant Google, was fired by Google chief executive, Sundar Pichai, for violating Google?s code of conduct, specifically his perpetuation of ?harmful gender stereotypes? in the workplace. Although 80% of Google?s tech employees are male, Google prides itself in its commitment to diversity, inclusion and openness, yet demands ideological conformity within its company. The irony of the Damore case is therefore striking.

We are living in a complicated, rather frightening age. Columnist David Brooks calls it ?an age of anxiety.? Changing demographic and technological disruption have produced a society where ?people live with bewildering freedom, without institutions to trust, unattached to compelling religions and sources of meaning, uncertain about their own lives.? For many this anxiety is producing a fear of the future and many will do anything to escape this fear, which is generating an ?age of fanaticism.? This combination of anxiety and fanaticism is occurring at a time when the United States seems hopelessly divided.

That God is a God of justice is a given. One of my favorite Minor Prophets is Amos, who rails against the injustice of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. His rebukes are scathing, some of which could certainly apply to the North American church today. But the Bible makes clear that God?s perfect justice is always balanced by His grace, mercy and compassion. That, of course, is why He sent Jesus: To die a substitutionary death and thereby satisfy the righteous, just demands of a perfect, holy and righteous God. The Bible also makes clear that we, who have received the free gift of salvation by grace through faith, are to exhibit justice, grace, mercy and compassion to the world. Put another way, the church of Jesus Christ is to manifest justice, grace, mercy and compassion to this broken world.

The civil war in Syria is entering a new phase, one fraught with significant implications for the Middle East, for Israel and for the United States. In the words of columnist Charles Krauthammer, ?The great Muslim civil war, centered in Syria, is approaching its post-Islamic State phase. It?s the end of the beginning. The parties are maneuvering to shape what comes next.? ISIS is disappearing as an independent, organized state within the Middle East. Its threat as a terrorist organization remains viable, but the caliphate declared by Baghdadi is dead!

In mid-June, James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Ill., armed with a rifle, opened fire on a group of Republican members of Congress practicing for a baseball game in Alexandria, Virginia. Four victims were transferred to the hospital with gunshot injuries: Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a congressional staffer, a lobbyist and a Capitol Police officer. Another congressman and a second police officer also suffered minor injuries. In statements on social media and letters to a local newspaper, Hodgkinson expressed fervent opposition to the Republican Party and called for higher taxes on the rich. He also volunteered for the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders. He was not a communist or an extremist member of some paramilitary group. He was an ordinary Midwestern Democrat who detested what was happening in his life and to his nation.