From the moon landings to 9/11, from QAnon to chemtrails, from Covid-19 to vaccines— conspiracies abound in American society. And according to many surveys and studies, Christians seem to be more likely than other groups to believe them. Should this be the case? How should Christians discern true conspiracies from false ones?

Over the past couple of months, numerous state legislatures have begun to pass laws that ban or limit the teaching of Critical Race Theory in K-12 classrooms. How should a Christian worldview inform how we think about critical race theory?

June is declared to be Pride month for the LGBTQ+ community. As such, gender, sex, and marriage are frequent talking points in our culture right now. What is a basic Christian understanding of these issues? What does the Bible teach?

The subject of firearms and concealed carry permits is a heated political topic. On one side, Christians point to mass shootings and argue that fewer firearms would be a solution. On the other side, Christians may argue that one should be prepared to defend oneself and others. Does the Bible clearly advocate for one side or the other?

Racial bias in policing has reentered the American consciousness since the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014 and reached new heights with George Floyd in 2020. Due to these incidents and others like them, most Americans believe that there is racial bias in how police officers treat people of color (especially black Americans) versus white Americans. Do the statistics bear this out? How should Christians think about this?

Many Americans are hesitant to take the Covid-19 vaccines. One issue raised by pro-life Christians is whether the vaccines are tied to the use of human cells that come from aborted fetuses. If so, are Christians complicit in abortion if they get these vaccines? How should our pro-life ethic inform our decision of whether or not to get vaccinated?

Talk of the COVID-19 vaccine has become central to conversations across the US and around the world. The production and distribution of this vaccine has raised many questions about safety, efficacy, and potential mandates that the vaccine may bring. What does the evidence show?

The term “feminism” can bring about strong feelings of distaste for many Christians, but others claim that Jesus was a feminist Himself. Jesus’s life, including his interactions with women, should be a model for Christians. As Christians try to emulate Christ, we can look at His treatment of women. Was Jesus really a feminist?

Recently, Joe Biden signed an executive order establishing a Presidential Commission to reform the Supreme Court of the United States. At the top of the list of reforms is to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court. This is often called court-packing, especially when changing the number of justices is done for political purposes. How should the Bible inform our view of court-packing?

For several years, LGBTQ advocates have tried to get the Equality Act passed through Congress. This would amend numerous pieces of legislation to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. It also prohibits the use of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as a legal defense if someone were to allege discrimination. Conversely, defenders of religious liberty rights have sought to strengthen the rights of individuals to act according to their conscience.

For many years, the United States/Mexico border has been at the forefront of media coverage. There are a number of issues at the border that could be addressed such as human and drug trafficking, violence in detainment camps, and policies regarding refugee and asylum seekers. However, one particular concern has been the Border Patrol’s encounters with unaccompanied children. We have seen unaccompanied children crossing the border for many years. Yet, there has been a recent spike in numbers that should lead Christians to pause and seek a biblical response.

Christians are often told that they shouldn’t try to legislate morality and that they should keep religious values out of public policy. Sometimes it is phrased, “Christians shouldn’t force their values on others.” Just how true are these sentiments? What does the Bible say about how our faith and values should influence the law?

Up until the last 100 years, the Christian church held to a unanimous belief regarding sexual relations—that the primary purpose was procreation. Now, Christians can have significantly differing views about contraceptives. While some Christians promote almost all birth control methods, others completely oppose any contraceptives and choose to have the maximum number of children that they can. Both sides may feel strongly about their convictions to use or refuse contraception.

Many have debated the proper role of government in marriage. As Christians, we believe that marriage is fundamentally a spiritual institution, being a physical manifestation of a greater spiritual reality. At the same time, civilizations for thousands of years have acknowledged that marriage has a social or civil component to it. Should this be the case? How should Christians think about the government’s role in marriage?

In recent years, we have become familiar with the phrases “the right/wrong side of history.” It was a favorite phrase of President Obama, and, just recently, Senators who acquitted President Trump were said to be on the “wrong side of history.” Likewise, with the recent passage of the Equality Act in the House of Representatives, those from the LGBTQ+ community have said that passing the bill will put our nation on the “right side of history.”

On February 25, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, which seeks to add sexual orientation and gender identity protections to existing civil rights legislation. This has raised concerns about conflicts between these newly recognized rights of LGBTQ Americans with the religious liberty rights of Christian (and some Muslim and Jewish) businesses, schools, nonprofits, and even places of worship.

As a part of a series of executive orders, President Biden has reversed the Mexico City Policy. The Mexico City Policy prevents non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from using tax dollars overseas as a way to perform or support abortion. It has subsequently been reversed by every Democratic presidential administration and reinstated by every Republican administration. Is this something Christians should care about? What impact could the reinstatement of this policy potentially have?

The western culture often promotes the idea of moral relativism: that morality is relative and that it is up to the individual to decide what is right and wrong for them. According to the statistics, many Christians have begun to adopt this ideology as well. Is this a correct view of morality or are moral truths transcendent of culture and individual belief?

LGBTQ+ issues are often at the forefront of Christian engagement with culture. Using preferred pronouns for transgender people is no exception and has become the subject of controversy. Some Christians refuse to call a person by a pronoun that does not align with their birth-assigned gender while others insist that using preferred pronouns is the loving thing to do. What does the Bible say about this? Should Christians ever use a preferred pronoun that does not align with the person’s birth gender?

During the campaign, Joe Biden made a commitment that his presidential cabinet and appointments would “look like America.” Presuming that his nominees are confirmed, he is on track to have the most diverse presidential cabinet in U.S. history. Diversity is one of those words that we hear often in our culture today. As diversity continues to grow, how should Christians think about diversity? Is it inherently a good thing? And how does unity fit into the picture?