Study notes

INTRODUCTION

The leaked 98-page-draft-opinion by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito kicked Pandora’s Box wide open.  If it holds, it will overturn five decades of abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade.  

Progressives are in in hysteria overdrive.  Conservatives are cautiously optimistic.   It remains to be seen whether this furor will be more of a midterm election issue than skyrocketing inflation, gas prices, interest rates, stagflation, border crossings, Afghanistan, or the Ukraine.

When Justice Alito’s draft was leaked, thousands of mostly Millennial and Gen Z women took the streets chanting, “my body, my choice.”  That mantra, “my body, my choice,” is not only the argument for wholesale abortion, but the logic behind so much of what’s driving the thinking of our next generation kids.  Yet, is “my body, my choice” reasonable?  Is it logical? 

INTRODUCTION

In a September 5, 2019 article in Atlantic Monthly, Derek Thompson opened Pandora’s Box with this title: Elite Failure Has Brought Americans to the Edge of an Existential Crisis.  His subtitle is even more provocative:

“The nuclear family, God, and national pride are a holy trinity of the American identity.  What would happen if a generation gave away all three?”

Thompson cited a 1998 Wall Street Journal/NBC poll of Millennials and Gen Zs that was taken again in 2019.  In just 21 years, young adults were 10% less willing to have children, and 20% less likely to value religion or patriotism.   Thompson is right: we are at the edge of an existential crisis.

Our next generations are exiting churches in wholesale numbers.  They have major problems with God, religion, the Bible and its values.  In this hot button edition, I would like to share with you our kids’ toughest God question, and how you can answer it.

INTRODUCTION

Chris Rufo recently opened Pandora’s Box on Twitter when he posted a leaked video of an all-hands meeting at Disney.  In it, Disney executive producer, Latoya Raveneau, tells her staff that the media giant has a “not-so-secret gay agenda” and is regularly adding “queerness” to children’s programming.  file:///Disney exposed/ Leaked videos show officials pushing LGBT agenda, saying DeSantis wants to ‘erase’ gay kids

Old Walt must be turning over in his grave.  How can we ever again entrust our kids to Disney?  But it’s not just Disney.  How can we entrust them to many of our schools that have turned into LGBTQ+ indoctrination centers?

In this hot button issue, we want to introduce you to a little-known 1934 book by an Oxford scholar that predicts how the sexual revolution that began three generations ago will lead to the collapse of our society.  Before we’re through, you’ll understand why I call this edition, “Disney & The Death of America.”

INTRODUCTION

73.6% of all statistics are false.  Is that true?  Nope.  I made it up.  But some of you believed me.  In a media-saturated world, we are inundated with factoids, images and stats that shape our perceptions.

INTRODUCTION

Nothing will open Pandora’s Box quicker than sharing your Christian Faith at family get togethers.

When I was growing up, there was a saying: “If you want to keep friends, never discuss race, politics or religion.”

So, should we keep the gospel under wraps to keep the peace?  If our children forbid us to talk about Jesus to our grandkids, should we obey them?

INTRODUCTION

Eight years ago, Barna Research Group opened Pandora’s Box by reporting that 59 percent of young adults who grew up in the church had dropped out.

In 2022, new research showed the number had increased from 59 to 64 percent.  Nearly two-thirds of U.S. twenty-something churchgoers have left the church.

https://www.barna.com/research/resilient-disciples/

But those are just statistics…unless your children or grandkids are among that 64 percent number.  And here’s the sobering reality: If you are an evangelical grandparent, the odds are 90 percent that one or more of your adult children have left the Faith, and two or more of your grandkids are lost to it.  So, here’s a critical question:  When your kids are in the Far Country, how do you bring them home?

INTRODUCTION

Christians say the craziest things.  I heard an evangelical pastor recently say, “Barak Obama was not the brown-skinned anti-war socialist who gave away free healthcare.  It was Jesus.” 

Really?  Jesus, an anti-war socialist giving away free healthcare?  A lot of young Christians think that today.  A 2018 Gallup Poll discovered that only 45% of young American adults have a positive view of capitalism, down from 66% in 2012—that’s an astounding 20% drop in one decade.  More than half now prefer socialism. Socialism as Popular as Capitalism Among Young Adults

INTRODUCTION

Is anyone besides me tired of hearing people say, “The science says…” to “prove” their positions on masks, coronavirus shots, global warming, or a thousand other subjects where smart people disagree?

In a media-saturated age, where blizzards of factoids are blowing in from every direction on every issue in life, whom do we believe?

Which “science says…” statement is right?  For most, it’s the scientist or pseudo-scientist or “expert” or so-called scientific study or statistical studies that best support what they already believe.

INTRODUCTION

Gloria Steinem and the feminists of the 1970s opened Pandora’s Box.  Little did they know that the very logic behind their brand of feminism would birth transgenderism, and that transgenderism would eventually begin to devour women’s rights.

The latest issue of Vogue magazine, a leading voice for feminism, has a photo spread promoting actress, Michaela Jae Rodriguez, a transgender woman. In promoting transgenderism, Is Vogue trying to commit suicide?

One is reminded of something Vladimir Lenin used to say: “We will hang the capitalist West, and they will sell us the rope to do it.”  Feminists have sold the rope to the transgender movement, and they will hang feminism from the gallows of outdated ideas.

INTRODUCTION

Pop singer Adelle opened Pandora’s Box at the recent Non-Binary British Music Awards when she was declared this year’s best singer.  She raised her trophy and shouted to the world how proud she was to be a woman. 

You could hear the echo of Helen Reddy’s feminist anthem, “I am woman, hear me roar, in numbers too big to ignore…”  Every female in the world, from little girls to old grannies, should have been thrilled.

Instead, the next day, Adelle was condemned by the woke crowd as an “Anti-trans, exclusionist.”

I want to give a shout out to Adelle: “You go, girl!” But, even more than that, I’m waiting for some guy to have the guts to stand in front of the world and say, “I’m proud to be a man!”

     Okay, I’ll do it!  “I, Bob Petterson, am proud to be a man!”  We have a crisis in manhood today.  Our culture is systematically emasculating men.   And it’s killing our kids.  Let’s talk about it.

INTRODUCTION

Protestors have opened Pandora’s Box in the past two years.

First there were the protests across the USA after the killing of George Floyd.  Those were cheered on by the left.

Then there were the January 6, 2021 protests when pro-Trump supporters broke into the Capital Building. That was cheered on by folks on the right.

Now there are the protests by the Canadian truckers that are spreading across Europe and the USA, cheered on by those tired of COVID restrictions.

So what do you think?  Which protests are good, or bad, or ugly?  It probably depends on which side of the political, social, or religious divides you’re on.  But, the bigger question is, “Which side is God on?”

INTRODUCTION

Physicist, Dr. Fred Singer, opened Pandora’s Box with his book, Hot Talk, Cold Science.  Using scientific data, he debunks historical climate data, Hot Talk, Cold Science (2021) Global Warming’s Unfinished Debate (Revised and Expanded Third Edition)

But a documentary film entitled, Merchants of Doubt, exposes Dr. Singer and other “climate deniers” as being financed by big oil.  Leaked Email Reveals Who’s Who List of Climate Denialists.

So, who’s right?  Climate debunkers or climate alarmists?  Factoids fly from the right and the left?  And most of us don’t know enough science to know who’s right.

But the Bible has a lot to say about climate change. And it gives us some critical warnings about its implications for the world’s future.

INTRODUCTION

Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, opened Pandora’s Box when he put his knee on George Floyd’s neck until the man died of strangulation.

A tsunami of anti-police demonstrations swept across the nation, and a battle cry echoed through its cities: “Defund the Police!”   Police were declared Public Enemy Number One.

So, how has defunding the police worked out?  We all know.  Crime has skyrocketed and people everywhere are fed up.  Law and order will be a big issue in the 2022 midterms.  It’s also a hot button issue that divides the generations.

INTRODUCTION

Do you dare to open a Pandora’s Box?  Just mention CRT—Critical Race Theory, and people go nuts.  CRT was the defining issue in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial elections.  And it will be a wedge issue in the 2022 mid-term elections.

Those three letters C—R—T can destroy a dinner party or blow up a school board meeting. 

So, what is Critical Race Theory?  Inquiring minds really ought to know.  Especially Jesus followers. 

INTRODUCTION

Ivan Pereira opened a Pandora’s Box in an ABC online opinion piece entitled America has a gun violence problem. What do we do about it?  America has a gun violence problem. What do we do about it%3F

Mr. Pereira quotes from all kinds of government statistics to paint a grim picture of gun violence in the United States.  We all know about mass shootings.  But they account for less than 1% of all the deaths by firearms.  Between 2015-2019 there were 191,000 gun deaths in our country. GUN VIOLENCE ARCHIVE.  About 75,000 were homicides.  Close to 10,000 were suicides.  The rest were accidental firearm discharges.

Certainly, people kill.  So do guns.  The focus of Mr. Pereira’s article is that these problems could be solved if people didn’t have guns in their homes.  That’s like scratching your fingers across the blackboard at a National Rifle Association meeting.  They would quickly remind Mr. Pereira of the Second Amendment right to bear arms in America.  So what does the Bible say about this?

INTRODUCTION

Netflix opened Pandora’s Box when streamed a Dave Chapelle 2021 comedy special.  The comedian did a bit about trans people, causing a firestorm of controversy.

Predictably, the woke mob demanded that Netflix cancel Chapelle.  But the liberal streaming company refused to cave in to the mob.  An online headline from a Hollywood entertainment site reads:  Why Netflix’s Defense of Dave Chapelle is a Game Changer.

There needs to be some game changers.  We are in danger of losing our First Amendment rights to free speech in America.  Let’s talk about Free Speech and the Woke Mob.

INTRODUCTION

BYU just opened Pandora’s Box with the results of a ten-year study on the effects of social media, especially on teenage girls.

Girls who used social media for at least two or three hours per day at the beginning of the study—when they were about 13 years old—and then greatly increased their use over time, were at a higher clinical risk for suicide as emerging adults.

BYU’s findings support a growing concern about the deadly effects of social media on our children and grandchildren.

I’ll be back in a minute to talk about DEATH BY SOCIAL MEDIA, and what the Bible has to say about the danger IT poses for us all, no matter what age we are.

INTRODUCTION

It was heartbreaking enough that Joe and Mary’s favorite granddaughter, Emma, “came out” a couple of years ago.  They couldn’t believe that the little girl they used to take to Sunday school, the teen who gave her heart to Jesus at a Young Life Camp, was now declaring herself to be a lesbian.

It took all the grace they possessed to treat her gay girlfriend, Ava, like family at last year’s Christmas gathering.  Watching his little Emma cuddle up romantically with Ava on the couch made Joe want to weep.

Every day, Joe and Mary prayed that Emma would come to her senses and leave Ava.  Those hopes were dashed two weeks ago when Mary went to the mailbox. Tucked inside was a wedding invitation.  Emma and Ava were getting married on September 7^th. Along with the formal invitation was a note from Emma,

“Dear Gramps and Grammy, I can hardly wait for you, the two people I love most in this world, to share this special day with Ava and me.”

Joe and Mary hardly slept for the next several days. What should they do?  On the one hand, they deeply loved Emma.  If they stayed away from the ceremony, it would break their granddaughter’s heart and do irreparable harm to a treasured relationship.  Not only that, if Joe and Mary opted out, they would cause a rift in the family.  Besides that, they could destroy any future influence they might have in leading Emma (and even Ava) to embrace Jesus fully.

On the other hand, Joe and Mary couldn’t affirm or celebrate their granddaughter’s unbiblical choices.  If they went to that gay wedding, their very presence would condone what Jesus declared to be wrong.  To smile through a sham wedding, as if nothing was wrong, would be disingenuous at best and hypocrisy at worst.

So, what should Joe and Mary do?  How would you advise them? More specifically, what would you do if Emma was your granddaughter?    Or, the most important question of all for fully devoted Jesus followers:

INTRODUCTION

“The family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life.”

—Pope Francis on Marriage [01/2015]

INTRODUCTION

There’s a tsunami rolling over us.  February 2021 ABC Poll: 5.6% of Americans now identify as LGBTQ, double the amount eight years ago in 2012.  Among Gen Z’s, the number a whopping 15.6%.  Estimates that a quarter of this generation will identify as LGBTQ within the next decade.

4,000% increase in transgender conversions in past decade in Great Britain & North America.  Gender dysphoria among 5&6 six-year-olds doubled in last five years.  New term by Brown University study:  Rapid Onset Dysphoria.

Headline from December 29, 2019 NBC report:  A Very LGBTQ decade:  Gay Marriage, Trans Rights, and a Rainbow Wave.

“The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.” 

—George Orwell

INTRODUCTION

Aaron Rogers and the “cancel culture mob.”

Cancel culture gets a lot of airplay these days.  Exactly what does it mean?  Is it fair in a country that boasts about our inalienable rights to free speech?  What does it mean for Christians in a nation that is increasingly hostile to biblical faith and values?

“Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us.  Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence.” 

—Martin Luther During the Bubonic Plague of 1527

INTRODUCTION

Vaccination and masks mandated during this COVID season of our lives are another of the hot button issues that divide Americans along the usual fault lines.  According to a 2021 Harris Poll, women are 50% more likely to wear masks and get shots than are men.  Urban dwellers are four times more likely to go along with CDC guidelines than are rural folks.  Senior citizens are twice as likely to get shots and wear masks than those under age 40.

“The pro-life cause is the preeminent cause of our time, and this struggle between the gospel of life and the culture of death will determine the destiny of mankind.”

—Peter Garret, The Australian House of Representatives

Introduction:  A Return to Stassi-Land?

How Texas Senate Bill 8, though well-intentioned may have the unintended consequence of turning the Lone Star State into a facsimile of Stassi-controlled East Germany. 

“I think the key to getting rid of illegal immigration, no matter where it’s coming from, is that you have to have a good legal apparatus for immigration.” 

—U.S. Senator Rand Paul

Introduction: The Two Faces of Compassion

On the right, a call for compassion for millions of American citizens who will be adversely-affected by a flood of illegal immigration.  On the left, a call for compassion for millions of immigrants who are fleeing cataclysmic disasters at home, only to live in squalid refugee camps on our southern borders.  Which side would Jesus take?  How should we respond?

“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democrat answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” —John F. Kennedy