Author: Kerby Anderson

Kerby Anderson
I’m not inclined to talk about legislation in other countries, but it is worth looking at proposed new hate speech legislation in Ireland so we can avoid the same mistake in this country. Kristen Waggoner of Alliance Defending Freedom wrote about this last month in Newsweek.
The context is something I’ve talked about on radio. The stabbing of children and others in Dublin by an Algerian resident sparked protests. Instead of addressing the issue of immigration, the government focused on the actions of the protesters as an excuse to criminalize free speech.
What is so surprising is the fact that this “hate speech” bill provides no definition of hate. In previous commentaries, I’ve documented that the word “hate” is a very difficult word to define in the law. We have seen this in previous attempts in this country to implement hate crime legislation.
This bill goes much further according to Kristen Waggoner. “As drafted, the law would allow police near-blanket authority to search and possibly find materials that are ‘hateful,’ rifling through text messages, emails, and personal effects to find prosecutable content.” She adds that the thought of police “raiding homes to seize devices and banned literature invokes thoughts of the novel 1984 and the darker moments of the last century.”
One of the supporters of the bill is a member of the Green Party. She defended the proposed legislation by arguing: “We are restricting freedom, but we’re doing it for the common good.” Yes, we have heard that before from totalitarians. It reminded me of the famous quote by C.S. Lewis: “Of all the tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.”
What is happening in Europe can come to America unless we work diligently to protect free speech.

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Kerby Anderson
If you write or speak about controversial issues, it is likely you will be banned from social media. Big Tech employees accuse the offender of misinformation or disinformation, even when that may not be the case.
YouTube (owned by Alphabet/Google), Facebook and Instagram (both owned by Meta), Twitter (now called X), and other platforms have banned politicians, doctors, and scientists. This has given Big Tech the ability to censor speech and put them into a position of deciding what is true and what is false.
Carol Roth, in her new book, reminds us that these bans are often permanent, with no pathway to redemption. She contrasts that with people who break the law. After they have served their time in prison, they are released. But with social media, there rarely is a path to get back on a platform.
Some have been successful. Journalist Alex Berenson was critical of COVID responses and information. When he posted accurate information about vaccine clinical trials, he received an eleven-month “permanent ban”. It wasn’t permanent because he sued Twitter and finally received a statement from Twitter that acknowledged his tweets should not have led to his suspension.
Sometimes you are banned with no justification. Journalist Miles Cheong said he was permanently banned from PayPal without an explicit reason and told he could not withdraw the money in his account for months.
In the past, we didn’t allow the phone service to decide if you could make a phone call. Carol Roth points to the Communications Act of 1934 which guaranteed phone service for all potential customers. The legislation wasn’t necessary when other phone services were available, and it wasn’t a monopoly.
But isn’t Big Tech essentially a monopoly? That’s why Congress needs to address the issue of banning people from social media.

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Kerby Anderson
As we enter this new year, we will be hearing more about the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The First Industrial Revolution occurred in the 18th century. The Second Industrial Revolution began in the 19th century with the development of oil, electricity, and steel. The Third Industrial Revolution has been the digital era of computers and the internet.
The World Economic Forum claims that the Fourth Industrial Revolution “represents a fundamental change in the way we live, work, and relate to one another. It is a new chapter in human development, enabled by extraordinary technology advances commensurate with those of the first, second, and third industrial revolutions.”
Glen Beck, in his book Dark Future, argues this revolution will change our world: “In the coming years, advancements in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain technologies, bioengineering, automation, the metaverse, and countless other areas will change the human race in unprecedented ways.”
This changing reality raises an important question, says Beck, “The question is not whether life is going to change; that unstoppable freight train has already left the station. The real question—the most important one of this century—is, Will the emerging technological revolution improve life and make mankind freer, or will it enslave, impoverish, or perhaps even destroy it?”
These social and technological changes are coming, and Christians need to be educated about these topics and apply biblical principles to analyze them. That is why over the last year I have been writing booklets on topics like the great reset, social media, digital surveillance, artificial intelligence, and genetic engineering. We need to think biblically about these topics, especially during this election year.

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Kerby Anderson
Fifteen years ago, I wrote a commentary about the realignment of America. Now that we have some new census figures, I thought it might be time to write another commentary about the migration from blue states to red states. The issue is more complicated than what I describe here, so you might want to get a free copy of my Point of View booklet on the realignment of America.
The general trend is easy to see. The US population grew by 1.6 million between July 2022 and July 2023. Southern states accounted for 1.4 million of the growth. The five states leading the population boom were: Texas (473,453), Florida (365,205), Georgia (116,077), South Carolina (90,600), and Tennessee (77,512).
Eight states saw population declines. The top three states are: New York (-101,984), California (-75,423) and Illinois (-32,826). Much of the decline was due to migration from blue states to red states.
The editors of the Wall Street Journal provide an explanation for the flight from certain states. They explain that these states have many things in common: “High taxes, burdensome business regulation, and inflated energy and housing prices.”
They also focus on the interesting example of Washington state. In the past, I have pointed to its increasing population because it had no state income tax. But Washington state has now started losing population perhaps due to enacting a 7 percent capital gains rate on high earners. Another reason could be the increasing crime problem in Seattle.
Blue states also face an electoral problem. If this migration trend continues, six progressive states would lose 12 House seats in the 2030 reapportionment. Those congressional seats would go to Florida, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Utah, and Idaho.
The realignment of America continues because of the economic choices made by governors and legislatures in each state.

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Kerby Anderson
Yesterday I talked about some of the problems with the universities in America and focused on the economic issues. Today I would like to talk about ideology. Victor Davis Hanson answers the question: “How Were the Universities Lost?”
He begins by acknowledging that most Americans already sensed that universities were a hotbed of liberalism and intolerance. But after the Hamas attack on Israel in October, most Americans were shocked at the level of antisemitic hatred on college campuses. He has several explanations.
First, elite universities worked to reduce their “white” incoming student populations. He points to the abolition of the SAT requirement and no longer looking at the comparative ranking of high school grade averages. The net result was a dramatic decrease in the number of Jewish students at many elite universities.
Second, was the description of Jewish students as “white” and “privileged.” The academic and financial success of Jewish people made it easier to target them as oppressors even though they are a minority in America. Third, universities began to admit increasing numbers of foreign students, especially from oil-rich Middle East countries, who possess an anti-Jewish bias.
He concludes, “The net result is that there are now thousands of students from abroad, especially from the Middle East, far fewer Jewish students, and student bodies who demand radical changes in faculty standards and course work.”
He also argued that these schools may go the way of Disney and Bud Light. “At the present rate, a Stanford law degree, a Harvard political science major, or a Yale social science BA will soon scare off employers and the general public at large.”
That’s why I suggest that a college degree may not be worth as much as it was just a few decades ago.

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Kerby Anderson
For the next two days, I want to talk about some of the problems with universities in America. Much of what I will be talking about today comes from “Harvard is Big Business at Its Worst” by Allysia Finley. She focuses on Harvard because of the testimony last month by Harvard President Claudine Gay, but her comments apply to most of the major universities.
The first issue is the fact that the IRS recognizes most private colleges as nonprofits, meaning they don’t pay taxes. This saves Ivy League schools like Harvard millions of dollars, which is why they have massive endowments. Couple that with the fact that Columbia is New York City’s largest private landowner, with more than 320 properties, valued at nearly $4 billion.
Second, these schools may have nonprofit status, but they operate like business corporations. For example, they charge exorbitant prices for their product with inelastic demand. Moreover, they “practice price discrimination by awarding financial aid to lower-income kids so the schools can market themselves as diverse and accessible.”
Third, these schools exploit low-cost labor by employing graduate students to teach classes for higher-paid faculty. As a graduate student at Yale, I taught undergraduate students just a few years younger than myself and wondered if they and their parents thought they were getting the best education money could buy.
Finally, Ivy League colleges differ from corporations in one way: “The schools don’t have shareholders who can force changes.” We are seeing the influence of big donors announcing they will withdraw their donations, but that is nothing like what you find in typical corporate management.
Perhaps you can now see why many universities are big business at its worst.

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Kerby Anderson
Our federal debt has been soaring to dangerous levels. According to the US Debt Clock, we are about to pass $34 trillion in national debt. As I have mentioned in previous commentaries, the debt to GDP is reaching an all-time high.
Even though Congress passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, there doesn’t seem to be any fiscal responsibility. Members of Congress will be passing another large supplemental bill for wars and border security. Soaring debt is due in large part to soaring spending and entitlement programs currently on autopilot.
Is there a solution? Chris Edwards proposes one solution: phase out federal subsidies for state and local activities such as K-12 education and welfare. If the federal government cuts subsidies, the states could make prudent decisions about programs. They could downsize some and decide to fund others with their resources.
If states were to fund their own programs, each state could design programs to match local needs without the current one-size-fits-all federal mandate. It would also cut out the costs of the programs that are costlier than necessary to pay federal government bureaucrats.
State budgets traditionally have been more efficient. Nearly all states (49) have balanced-budget requirements, and most (43) governors have line-item vetoes that allow them to strike wasteful spending from budgets.
Chris Edward explains that the federal government accounts for two-thirds of the nation’s government spending, while the state and local governments account for one-third. He says we should be like Switzerland, where just one-third of government spending is federal.
His commentary reminds us there are ways to reduce federal spending, but we need to elect people to Congress who are willing to do it.

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Kerby Anderson
Who would have ever thought that classical education would be controversial? The fact that Professor Adam Carrington had to write that “classical education is not a threat” is another indication of how everything has become political.
He begins by asking the question: “Is education Republican or Democrat, conservative or progressive?” His answer is that in a rightly ordered system, it should be neither. It should instruct students about America’s history and ideals.
One of the reasons such education has come under attack is due to the simple fact that it is the learning approach in many private schools and charter schools, and in homeschooling.
Classical education also avoids the “chronological snobbery” so prevalent in many educational programs today.  What is new and fashionable is valued over what has stood the test of time and provides a moral foundation for society.
He argues that “wisdom can be found in many times, places, and persons. We see in the Greeks the birth of philosophy, wherein men such as Plato and Aristotle sought to understand universal truths by studying the human beings around them.” 
We see it in Christianity and the Christian influence in western culture. And we see it in America with a “political system dedicated to human liberty and equality, along with the brilliant institutional structures of federalism and separation of powers found in The Federalist Papers and the US Constitution.”
He is also quick to add that we need not have blind adoration of the past, often filled with evils and horrors. Instead, we should condemn these evil practices and learn from these mistakes of the past.
Classical education can inform our current debates and provide a moral foundation on which to rebuild a broken society.

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Kerby Anderson
Let me begin by wishing you a Happy New Year. At the start of this New Year, I wanted to pass on some advice. In previous commentaries, I have talked about the value of using this time of year to change something in your life. There is nothing magical about using January 1 as a start date, but why not use it to improve yourself?
First, I would recommend you pick just one thing to change. If you try to change too many things at once, you are probably not going to succeed. And I would also recommend that you make it a specific, concrete goal that you write down. The more specific you are, the greater likelihood you will be successful.
Second, aim low. In previous New Year’s commentaries, I have quoted from Tristan Taylor who encourages people to “strive for mediocrity.” Don’t pick something that is too big to achieve. Start small. After all, you are where you are right now due to dozens of small changes or compromises you made in the past.
I realize that motivational speakers challenge us to strive for excellence. We should pick a goal that challenges us. But also pick a reasonable goal so we can see and enjoy some level of success. Short-term success can lead to greater success.
Third, expect difficulties. It seems like the moment you start a diet, people around you start inviting you to banquets and all-you-can-eat buffets. The day after you join a fitness club, your life gets busy, and you cannot find time to get to the gym. The moment you decide to do a daily quiet time, your boss asks you to come in earlier for work.
Fourth, accept failure. You might find that for every two steps forward you take one step back. Sometimes you even take two steps back. This is where dedication and perseverance come into play.
Finally, plan a reward. This gives you a goal to achieve and a reward for your dedication. This is the first day of the year, so go for it.

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Kerby Anderson
Most Americans are already financially worse-off than they were before the pandemic. But here is an arresting statistic. JP Morgan estimates that 99 percent of all Americans will be financially worse-off by next year.
The majority of Americans have burned through their excess savings they accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic. The last few percentages of Americans will have used them up by July 2024.
The bank’s top stock strategist points to the fact that most Americans are already losing ground financially. He predicts that “only the top 1% of consumers by income will be better off than before the pandemic.” He also points to the increasing number of credit card and auto loan delinquencies, as well as Chapter 11 filings.
It appears that excess savings peaked in August 2021 at $2.1 trillion, which was boosted by the government stimulus checks. Now the savings have dwindled to below $148 billion. Consumers are facing tighter credit conditions and rising rates.
The graph that accompanies this commentary helps to explain the different reactions to the current economic conditions. On one side you have the president and his cabinet, along with many Wall Street pundits, talking about the positive economic news. They point to low unemployment figures and economic growth. They don’t understand why most Americans aren’t more excited.
On the other side are most Americans, who are the bottom 80% of income level. They are struggling financially and are already having a difficult time making ends meet. All this financial “happy-talk” hasn’t changed their financial circumstances and they find themselves financially worse-off.

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Kerby Anderson
If you visited New York City more than a decade ago, you likely saw this sign on buses or on subway cars. “If you finish high school, get a job, and get married before having children, you have a 98% chance of not being in poverty.”
That phrase may sound familiar since I have mentioned it in previous commentaries. It is known as the “success sequence” that was first articulated by two scholars at the Brookings Institution. It has been repeated by authors and social scientists many times since.
Jason Riley mentions it in a recent Wall Street Journal commentary because he points to the evidence that the “biggest root cause of crime is fatherlessness.” He reminds us that America’s crime debate tends to focus on various root causes, like poverty and joblessness. Though that may be a partial explanation, the real problem is the lack of two-parent families.
A research paper from the Institute for Family Studies acknowledged that economic conditions play a role in criminal behavior. However, the authors argue that family instability may be the biggest factor. And they also add that factor isn’t receiving the attention it deserves.
“Cities are safer when two-parent families are dominant and more crime-ridden when family instability is common,” the authors write. Nationwide, the total crime rate is higher in cities “that have above the median share of single-parent families, compared to cities that have fewer single-parent families.”
The study concludes that we need to develop cultural incentives that favor marriage and stable families. This is where I believe the church can make a difference. We need pastors and Christian leaders to use their platforms to promote marriage and sexual responsibility.

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Kerby Anderson
Yesterday I talked about the research by Jonathan Haidt and others on young girls and ended with his comment that his explanation for girls did not seem to apply to boys. His article attached to his commentary is a preview of his forthcoming book, The Anxious Generation. Rates of mental problems rose significantly around 2013, and the impact of social media on girls is the logical explanation.
But we didn’t see the same rapid increase for boys. Rates of anxiety and depression were much higher for girls than boys. But the rate for suicide is much higher for boys than girls. He concluded that he was focused on the wrong variables.
He explains, “The male crisis didn’t begin on the day that boys traded their flip phones for smartphones packed with social media apps. Boys started to become more pessimistic around four decades ago, although the trend has accelerated in the years since everyone got a smartphone.”
Boys are more attracted to things, machines, and complex systems. They got involved in the early phases of technological entertainment that included computers and video games. These pulled them away from real-world pursuits and into the virtual world.
They have withdrawn from the real world “where they could develop the skills needed to become competent, successful, and loving men.” Instead, they have been “lured into an ever more appealing virtual world in which desires for adventure and for sex can be satisfied, at least superficially, without doing anything that would prepare them for later success in work, love, and marriage.”
These last two days, I have been talking about the significant mental health problems of this young generation. Pastors and Christian leaders need to speak to this issue and warn parents about these dangers.

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Kerby Anderson
Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist and author of books like The Coddling of the American Mind. I have interviewed him on that book and hope to interview him on his forthcoming book, The Anxious Generation. You can get a preview of his research in the attached article, “I’m Worried About the Boys, Too.”
The research on the problems girls face is well-known. He explains, “Since 2015, I have been trying to solve a mystery: all of a sudden, around 2013, rates of depression, anxiety, and self-harm began rising rapidly for American adolescents.” Let me put that in perspective. Generation Z (those born after 1996) have the worst mental health of any generation, and that data goes all the way back to those born from 1900 to 1925.
The problems increase rapidly on any graph. It looks like a hockey stick with the bend beginning in 2013. He explains what happened in that year. That was the year Facebook bought Instagram. Girls of all ages flocked to the platform.
In previous commentaries, I have mentioned Professor Jean Twenge who noted the same sharp increase. She referred to this youngest generation as the “iGen Generation” because they are digital natives who never knew a time when we didn’t have an iPhone and an iPad or other digital devices.
The conclusion of these various researchers was simple. Social media harms girls through multiple well-known mechanisms. This includes social comparison, early sexualization, perfectionism, cyberbullying and relational aggression, and emotional contagion.
Dr. Haidt ends his article by acknowledging that understanding the impact of social media solved the mystery with girls but doesn’t solve the problem with boys. I will talk about that tomorrow.

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Kerby Anderson
On this Christmas day, I think it would be good to reflect for just a moment on the Incarnation. God became man and took on human flesh. This is a great theological wonder and mystery.
Malcolm Muggeridge wrote this to describe the importance of the birth of Christ. “Thanks to the great mercy and marvel of the Incarnation, the cosmic scene is resolved into a human drama. A human drama in which God reached down to relate Himself to man and man reaches up to relate himself to God. Time looks into eternity and eternity into time, making now always and always now. Everything is transformed by this sublime drama of the Incarnation, God’s special parable for man in a fallen world.”
God reached down to us by sending the second person of the Trinity to earth to become part of the human drama and human dilemma. God stepped out of eternity into time to become part of the human community. What an incredible act of love and mercy.
God did not just come to dwell among us and comfort us. He came that He might raise us up through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although we celebrate the birth of Christ today, we also look to the death and resurrection of Christ that we celebrate at Easter. Romans 5:8 proclaims: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 1 Peter 2:24 says that Christ “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.”
On this Christmas day, we should pause to reflect on why Christ came to earth and what He did for us on the cross.

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Kerby Anderson
This is Christmas week, and so I thought we might reflect on the hymn, “O Holy Night” by John Dwight.

“O holy night! The stars are brightly shining. It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.”

Jesus came into the world to save us and so we feel valuable and our soul feels its worth. Perhaps the most quoted verse in the Bible is John 3:16. It tells us that Jesus came because “God so loved the world.” He came so that our souls would feel their worth to God.

This hymn also asks us to consider the fact that the King of kings was born as a human infant and placed in a manger. “The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger, In all our trials born to be our Friend. He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger. Behold your King, before Him lowly bend.”

Isn’t it amazing that there were some who were willing to worship him even while merely a babe in a manger? The hymn then talks about how we should respond to one another in humility.

“Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, And in His name, all oppression shall cease.”

We no longer have slavery in this country, but many people are still enslaved to various forms of sin and need Jesus as their Savior. And we as believers are to model the humility that Jesus demonstrated when He stepped out of eternity into time and gave up His rights as God.

This is a message we not only need at Christmas, but every day.

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Kerby Anderson
During this Christmas week, I have taken the time to discuss the theology of some of the Christmas hymns and carols that we sing. Today I would like to talk about The First Noel. It is an English song dating back to the sixteenth century. Some people believe that the First Noel was French because of the French spelling of Noel, but it is actually an English song. The French word Noël does mean “Christmas” and it is relevant to the lyrics of the song. The First Noel was first published in 1833 when it appeared in the work, Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern.
The first line of the song suggests a December date for the birth of Christ: “The first Noel, the angels did say; Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay; In fields where they lay keeping their sheep, On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.” Although many doubt that Jesus was born in December, there are some theologians (such as the author of the Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ) who believe that a December date is possible.
Whatever the case may be about the date of the birth of Jesus, the song continues: “Born is the King of Israel!” It reminds us that a king was born that night. Yet few understood the significance of a birth in Bethlehem.
Even the wise men from the East did not completely understand the significance of His birth, but they were guided to Him by a star. “For all to see there was a star; Shining in the east, beyond them far; And to the earth, it gave great light, And so it continued both day and night.”
The song goes on to say that “three wise men came from country far.” The Bible does not tell us how many wise men there were. We know there were three kinds of gifts (gold, frankincense, and myrrh).
What the Bible clearly teaches, however, is that Jesus was born and that He is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

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Kerby Anderson
The carol “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is an English translation of a Latin hymn that is sung during Advent and Christmas. The text goes back to at least the 18th century (and perhaps much earlier) while the music put to it goes back to the 15th century.
“O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel. That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”
Emmanuel means, “God with us.” Even before the coming of Christ, we see passages in the Old Testament that remind us that God was with Israel. In 1 Kings 8, we read, “Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us.” In Psalm 46, we read that, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”
One of the most visible reminders of God’s presence was during the Exodus. God was with the Israelites as a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of smoke by day. His presence was with them in the Tabernacle and later the Temple in the Holy of Holies.
But the most important aspect of Emmanuel is found in the New Testament. John tells us in his gospel, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This is the miracle of the Incarnation. God put on human flesh and came to Israel so that He might give His life for all of us. Paul writes to Timothy, “Here is the great mystery of our religion: Christ came as a human” (1 Timothy 3:16). This is what we celebrate at Christmas.

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Kerby Anderson
It is estimated that Charles Wesley wrote over 6500 hymns. Perhaps his best-known hymn is “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.” Over the years it has been edited slightly, but the meaning and theology remain as he wrote it more than two centuries ago.
It begins with a proclamation of the birth of Jesus: “Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.”
The hymn reminds us why Christ came to earth. Jesus came into the world to bring peace, but many who sing this song fail to realize that it was to bring peace between us and God. Wesley’s hymn reminds us that His birth was so that God and sinners could be reconciled. We are the sinners in this hymn, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). All we like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6). We have broken God’s commandments and need to be reconciled with God. This was done when Christ died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3).
This hymn by Charles Wesley goes on to describe who Jesus Christ is. “Christ by highest heaven adored; Christ, the everlasting Lord! Late in time behold Him come, offspring of the Virgin’s womb. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate Deity, Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.”
This is the wonder of the Incarnation. Jesus became the “offspring of the Virgin’s womb.” God became man and was “veiled in flesh” even though He was the “incarnate Deity.”
This Christmas week, let us all once again reflect upon the Incarnation. How wonderful yet mysterious that God would become man and dwell among us. And that He would be willing to die on a cross for our sins.

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Kerby Anderson
This is Christmas week, and I thought it might be worthwhile to spend a moment to reflect on the words to the hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” It was written in 1867 by Phillips Brooks (an Episcopal pastor from Philadelphia). He had been in Israel two years earlier and had celebrated Christmas in Bethlehem. He wrote this song to reflect on what the night of the birth of Jesus might have been like.
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
While the streets of our cities are quiet on Christmas day, most likely that day was just like any other day for the people in Bethlehem. But as evening came, the town grew quiet and something remarkable took place.
In the second verse the hymn says, “While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.” This is just like today. Our world goes about its business, usually oblivious to the spiritual realities around it.
Jesus came into the world quietly. Yes, there was the angelic announcement to the shepherds, but most other people were unaware of the fact that the most significant event in history was taking place. God became a man. But he was born in a stable and laid in a feeding trough. There was no pomp or circumstance as you would expect of a King.
Jesus came not only to live among us but to ultimately die for our sins. He took upon Himself the sins of the world (your sins and my sins) and paid the ultimate penalty that we deserved to pay so that we might have everlasting life.
During this Christmas week, I hope you will stop long enough to consider what happened in that little town of Bethlehem. But even more so, I hope you will think about what Jesus did for you on Calvary.

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Kerby Anderson
The attacks on Western civilization have been coming from liberals on university campuses for decades. Therefore, it was encouraging to see a liberal atheist remind us of the value of our civilization.
On his TV program, Bill Maher complained about “progressives and academics who refer to Israel as an outpost of Western civilization, like it’s a bad thing.” He then added: “Western civilization is what gave the world pretty much every liberal precept that liberals are supposed to adore. Individual liberty, scientific inquiry, rule of law, religious freedom, women’s rights, human rights, democracy, trial by jury, freedom of speech.”
I was encouraged to hear him say that, but I was concerned about some of the people he credited for these advances. I was not alone. Jerry Newcombe (D. James Kennedy Ministries) also expressed his concern in his column.
For example, Bill Maher gave credit to Rousseau, Voltaire, and Locke for giving the world the foundational principles for human rights. The first two did not. But don’t take my word for it, read Rousseau’s The Social Contract or Voltaire’s Candide, and you find their writings became the justification for the French Revolution.
But he was correct by mentioning John Locke, who is best known for his Second Treatise of Government. That book was influential to the founders of this country. He references the Bible in many places (some say 22 times, others say 121 times).
We should also add the writings of William Blackstone, Samuel Rutherford, and Baron de Montesquieu. But the most important book Bill Maher failed to mention was the Bible.
I give Bill Maher credit for defending Western civilization, even though he left out some important influences.

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