I just finished reading a book by media theorist Douglas Rushkoff entitled Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now. It is a penetrating and thought-provoking book. [The title is an obvious play on the Alvin Toffler?s 1970 classic book, Future Shock.] To me, it captures quite brilliantly the unsettledness and disorientation that many feel as we begin the 21st century. It offers an analysis of our culture unlike any other I have read recently. Yet, with his analysis, Rushkoff offers few solutions and little comfort. So, in this Perspective, I seek to summarize the principal arguments of the book and add a biblical response to each major point, for I believe that God offers a cure to the ?disease? called ?Present Shock.?

Last week, George Zimmerman was acquitted of charges of murder and manslaughter in the 26 February 2012 killing of 17-year old Trayvon Martin. The trial and the circumstances that led up to the trial were filled with intense emotion, controversy and ethical meaning. It should foster some soul-searching on the part of the nation, especially for Christians. Arguably, this was an extremely difficult case for the prosecution. . .

That marriage and family are changing is now a given. Law, insurance practices and government policies all reflect this change. Both are defined in many different ways and marriage is no longer solely heterosexual in its nature. Furthermore, Stephanie Coontz of Evergreen State College in Washington recently observed that ?marriage is no longer the central institution that organizes people?s lives. Marriage is no longer the only place where people make major life transitions and decisions, enter into commitments or incur obligations??

Many remember this tragic 2010 story: In Gainesville, Florida, Pastor Terry Jones threatened to burn copies of the Qur?an on 11 September 2010 (he called it ?International Burn a Koran Day?). He said that his purpose was to ?bring awareness to the dangers of Islam and that the Koran is leading people to hell. Eternal fire is the only destination the Koran can lead people to so we want to put the Koran in its place?the fire!? Although I believe that Jesus is the only way to eternal life (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), I question whether Pastor Jones was laying out an effective strategy to give witness to the truth about Jesus. I find nothing in the Bible that would view this as an effective kind of witness. Let me suggest two thoughts:

Stem cells are the building blocks of the human body. Stem cell research has enormous potential to deal with disease and various genetic disorders. The most controversial aspect of stem cell research is embryonic stem cells, which necessitate the killing of the embryo to retrieve the stem cells. In 2010, scientists reported on a new technique that provides an alternative to using human embryonic stem cells for research. Basically, the process enables scientists to convert ordinary skin cells into cells that appear virtually identical to embryonic stem cells. This same strategy can then be used to ?coax? those same cells to morph into specific tissues that would be a perfect match for transplantation into patients.

In Western Europe euthanasia is increasingly easy and ethically acceptable. Naftali Bendavid recently reported on the case of Belgium twins, Marc and Eddy Verbessem, who were identical deaf twins who had a genetic disorder that was also making them blind. After a wrenching ordeal that involved legal and medical difficulties, Marc and Eddy, on 14 December 2012, went to a Brussels hospital, said goodbye to their family, lay down in adjoining beds, received lethal injections and were gone…

Near the end of May, President Obama delivered an important address at the National Defense University in which he declared that the war on terror is nearly over and it is time to shift our national thinking about terror. Among other things, he described al Qaeda as ?a shell of its former self.? . . . Many have compared the US War on Terror with the Cold War, which lasted more than 40 years. The US War on Terror officially began in 2001, so it is now about 12 years old. Thus, is it premature to diminish the terrorist threat and, in effect, declare that the War on Terror is nearly over or at least that terror is a much less significant threat to the US?

The brutal civil war currently raging in Syria is a complex conflict that has significant implications for both the United States and for Israel. Israel has vowed to stay out of this civil war but is worried that Hezbollah will obtain access to more sophisticated rockets and perhaps chemical weapons owned by Syria. Because the US has not taken leadership in aiding the rebel forces, Russia and Iran have filled that vacuum. . . Hezbollah has clearly ratcheted up its commitment to Syria–the military lifeline for this terrorist group. In addition, other Muslim nations, especially those of Sunni Islam, do not wish to see Syria, Iran and Hezbollah triumph in this civil war. The outcome of this horrific war has enormous implications for the Middle East and for the larger world?s balance of power. In this edition of Issues in Perspective, I hope to unravel some of this mess in Syria.

One of the key themes of Issues in Perspective is the articulation and defense of the Christian worldview. That worldview is discerned from a study of the Bible and the application of that worldview to life. Two recent studies validate that worldview.

When God made his unconditional covenant with Abraham (see Genesis 12, 15, 17, etc.), He said that ?in you all the nations will be blessed.? One of the Lord?s expectations was that His people, Israel, would be a channel of blessing for all of humanity. They would represent Him to the world. The Apostle Paul picks up on that theme in the book of Galatians when he argues that one of the key blessings God had in mind was the blessing of justification by faith, which came through Jesus. Wherever Jewish people have gone, they have been a channel of blessing for broader humanity. Consider two recent examples: