TruthCurrents

If you’ve watched the news this week, then you’re aware that right before our eyes there is a revolution unfolding in the nation of Iran. Maybe as many as 2,000 people have been killed and another 10,000 imprisoned by an oppressive Muslim regime trying to hold on for dear life as their regime is about to be toppled by their own people. We need to talk about the state of the Islamic world. A.S. Ibrahim, “Dawn of freedom,” January 12, 2026.__________, “A pathetic surrender to Islamism,” January 7, 2026.__________, “When the crescent meets the hammer,” November 18, 2025.Christina Grube, “Hundreds reported dead after Iranian crackdown on protesters,” January 9, 2026.Everett Piper, “Questions everyone should be asking Zohran Mamdani,” January 4, 2026.John D. Wilsey, “The roots of Mamdani’s vision,” January 3, 2026.

Welcome back to a new season of TruthCurrents. A lot of things are happening in the world right now. Our task on TruthCurrents is not only to know what’s true, but to discover how to think biblically about currents events. Our question as we see the news headlines is, “What does the bible say about this and how should we think biblical thoughts?” So, buckle up because TruthCurrents over the next several weeks is going to be wild because so much is happening in the world. And followers of Jesus Christ need to think biblical thoughts so that we have a reference point for how to engage the world around us. Rebeccah L. Heinrichs, “Maduro is out, so now what happens?” January 5, 2026.R. Albert Mohler, “The parable of Nicolas Maduro,” January 5, 2026.Daniel R. Suhr, “The president was right to take action,” January 5, 2026.

Today we have the final installment of our conversation with Emilio Lartigue. His podcastis called Truth Matters. It’s a parallel to my TruthCurrents. We’re going to talk today about the end of all things. And I think you’ll find it a fascinating look into what’s behind the curtain, what’s still to come. Join us.

Welcome to TruthCurrents. I’m continuing my conversation today with Emilio Lartigue, a brother and a friend. We are in an extended conversation about some doctrines that you will be interested in. Today our topic is hermeneutics. You may say, “I don’t even know what that is.” Well, hopefully you’ll understand by the time we finish why this is so significant for people who are determined not to be tourists in the word of God, but to be explorers.

Every November, I sit down with Emilio Lartigue. He has served in ministry beside me for many years. He has a platform that he teaches theology and contemplates the philosophical side of the gospel. It’s called Truth Matters and is a compliment to TruthCurrents. So, for the next several weeks we are going to talk about some critically important theological issues. So, join us.

How will the rise of the Antichrist ultimately come about? The topic is usually reserved for theologians, but given recent events in our generation, the topic is gaining conversation among regular people who are wondering about just how things will happen? How is it possible that a single ruler will by the acclaim of the whole earth come to rule a government over everything? Let’s talk about that.Nathan A. Finn, “Back to gender reality for Gen Z,” October 24, 2025.Jerry Bowyer, “Peter Thiel talks about the Antichrist,” October 23, 2025.Josh Grover, “Humans are not mere animals,” October 22, 2025.Eric Patterson, “Zohran Mamdani’s civic immorality,” October 22, 2025.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” That’s the opening line of the Declaration of Independence. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, it asserts that all individuals have inherent, God-given rights that cannot be taken away by any government. They can’t be taken by government because they were not granted by government. But what’s a shame in 2025, is that we have democrat Senators in the U.S. Senate who don’t seem to understand this most basic American principle.Joseph Backholm & Ashley Vaughan, “Everyone legislates their beliefs,” September 26, 2025.Delano Squires, “Democrats must face their Christian exodus,” September 19, 2025.R. Albert Mohler, Jr. “Yes, Sen. Kaine, our rights come from the Creator,” September 5, 2025.

Our public life in America has become so morally deformed that now, a cold-blooded murder caught on camera elicits no more than a shrug, a smirk, or even all out laughter and dancing in the streets. When did we become such horrible people. It’s interesting that Charlie Kirk’s organization was called “Turning Point USA.” I believe that right now the USA is actually at a turning point.Robert J. Pacienza, “A turning point for America,” October 1, 2025.Nathan A. Finn, “A revival pattern in America,” September 19, 2025.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk occurred almost a month ago, and interesting story lines continue to emerge related to that event. For example, on September 8th, two days before the assassination, Jezebel magazine published an article with the headline, “We paid some Etsy Witches to curse Charlie Kirk.” Let’s talk about the presence of evil in our generation.Graham Faulkner, “Etsy witches and the murder of Charlie Kirk,” September 18, 2025.James R. Wood, “Be neither terrorized nor radicalized,” September 16, 2025.

Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re aware that we are now in full-blown football mode. College football is underway and the NFL has kicked off with its new ’25-’26 season. Everything should be wonderful in the world of football fans. Except, one of the story lines in the NFL this year is the increasing prominence of male cheerleaders. Ray Hacke, “This is nothing to cheer about,” August 27, 2025.Denny Burk, “Jen Hatmaker and her appeal to deconstruct,” August 26, 2025.

On Saturday a week ago, thousands of Shiite Muslims marched together in a parade celebrating the Muslim holiday, Arbaeen. This holiday translates it’s title as “The Fortieth Day,” and it commemorates the martyrdom of a leader named Imam Hussein, who was the third Shiite Imam, or spiritual leader, the grandson of the founder of Islam, Muhammad. Let’s talk about that.A.S. Ibrahim, “CAIR, Mahmoud Khalil, and progressive naivety,” August 27, 2025.___________, “A revealing Muslim rally,” August 20, 2025.

It doesn’t take much real insight to recognize that things have changed around here. The America of 2025 is vastly different from the America of 30 or 40 years ago. And I often hear Christians use a verse from Psalm 11 to throw up their hands in despair. Psalm 11:3 says, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Let’s talk about what the righteous can do.Thaddeus Williams, “An anti-gospel take on greed,” August 11, 2025.Katy Faust, “The myth of ‘no difference’,” August 4, 2025._________, “The end of the rainbow?” June 30, 2025.Janie B. Cheaney, “Times of testing,” May 15, 2025.

I call it, “Bumper-sticker Theology.” That’s my label for the kind of theology that involves no deep, contemplative, pondering or meditation of the weighty issues of faith. But rather it’s like a drive-by approach to significant issues where we just wave at them as we go past and summarize our conclusions in pithy phrases that fit well on t-shirts or bumper stickers. We have a plague of bumper-sticker theology in our generation.Daniel Schreiner, “Engaging with ‘Practicing the Way’: Nine Thoughts on John Mark Comer’s Best Seller,” March 12, 2025.

Maybe you’ve heard of the website, Etsy. It’s an online marketplace where people buy quaint, homemade goods: jams, jelly's, quilt, all kinds of homemade items. But what you might not know about Etsy is it is now a place that has developed a full-blown cottage industry for selling magical spells to witches. What should we think about this biblically?Katie J. McCoy, “The witches of Etsy,” July 30, 2025.Mary Jackson, “Out of Darkness,” World Magazine, May 4, 2025.

A few weeks ago on May 25th, a man named Harrison Ruffin Tyler, died at the age of 96. You might recollect that the 10th president of the United States was John Tyler, Harrison’s grandfather. You heard that right, Harrison is his grandson. John Tyler was born in 1790 and died in 1862. He had 15 children late in life and the last one was Lyon Tyler who lived from 1853-1935. Lyon also saw a child born when he was 75 years old, Harrison Tyler. And so, with the death of Harrison this year, we see that the Tyler family has three generations that span 230 years. This is what historians call historical consciousness, that is, the awareness of how history unfolds and how the past in connected to the present. I want us to talk about that because America is a nation with a great past, but today very little historical awareness of that past.Carolina Lumetta, “Pastors ponder how best to exercise new freedom to politick,” July 10, 2025.Lauren Canterberry, “Churches may endorse candidates from pulpit, IRS says,” July 8, 2025.John D. Wilsey, “History’s enduring presence,” June 4, 2025.

Well, we’re halfway through the month of July and I realized the other day that I missed something. Apparently, I missed Pride Month. The month of June came and went and I heard almost nothing about it and so I decided to look into it. Where did Pride Month go? After years of being assaulted every June with an in-your-face publicity campaign, what happened in 2025? You need to know what I found out.Glenn T. Stanton, “A deception exposed,” July 8, 2025.Bekah McCallum, “The Pride Month that wasn’t,” June 30, 2025.Bethel McGrew, “Playing hardball,” June 27, 2025.

Religious liberty is a topic that is always worth the time to think about and talk about because the concept is a uniquely American contribution to the history of western civilization. Also, religious liberty is a uniquely Baptist contribution to the history of the American experiment. We know historically there is a give and take in the relationship between church and state and we are forever trying to assess in particular instances exactly how that relationship should play out. Right now, there are shifts being made by the United States Supreme Court and so, the proper understanding of government and organized religion is once again a topic worth examining. So, let’s talk about religious liberty.Andrew T. Walker, “The scandal of compromising evangelical elites,” June 9, 2025.Joseph Backholm, “The myth of secular neutrality,” June 3, 2025.Colin J. Smothers, “Fuller Seminary’s untenable ‘third way’,” May 30, 2025.Thaddeus Williams, “Tax money for some religions,” May 27, 2025.

One of the critical marks of Christianity is the willingness of God’s people to cooperate together in Kingdom endeavors. My church is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention. The SBC is defined by cooperation more than organizational structure or any of the things that bind other denominations together. The SBC is a convention of churches who have voluntarily associated with each other because we know that together we can accomplish more than we can apart. Last week was the annual SBC meeting held in Dallas, TX. I want to share with you the state of Southern Baptists: the good, the bad, and the embarrassing. Mark Wingfield, “Why won’t the SBC be more financially transparent?” June 12, 2025.Lauren Canterberry, “SBC urges Supreme Court overturn of gay marriage ruling,” June 11, 2025.Nathan A. Finn, “Confessional fidelity and denominational faithfulness,” June 10, 2025.

I had breakfast this morning with nearly 100 men who gathered together for fellowship and spiritual warfare. I pastor a church where men are enthusiastically involved in disciple-making and pursuing Christ-likeness. I hear from other pastors all the time, “How do you get men involved at church because we are not being successful at it?” And I tell them that muscular Christianity is the key to living out the call of the gospel for men.

Artificial Intelligence is changing our world in unexpected ways and oddly enough, AI is the biggest thing that Christians are not talking about. We need to consider the way that humanity and human society will be altered over the course of the next generation by Artificial Intelligence. C.R. Wiley, “AI Jesus and other heresies from Silicon Valley,” January 6, 2025.Anne Kennedy, “In the care of AI,” March 3, 2025.Flynn Evans, “Dating alone,” March 18, 2025.Liz Lykins, “Should elementary students use AI tools?” March 19, 2025.