One of the reasons we do TruthCurrents here at Evergreen is because I believe we have the responsibility as Jesus followers to be intellectually solid enough in our thinking to be able to apply biblical truths to the currents events and circumstances of our generation.

We need to be able to recognize truth and to identify it to live by it. We also need to be able to recognize what one writer calls “damnable lies,” that is, falsehoods that really do damaging and damning things to a culture. In this final week before an election I want us to consider some damnable lies that are circulating in our day.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr. “This is how religious liberty dies,” October 28, 2024.

Robert J. Pacienza, “It’s time to sound the alarm,” October 18, 2024.

The Washington Times reported last week on a story out of the United Kingdom. A man by the name of Adam Smith-Connor, a 20-year Army veteran, was arrested for anti-social behavior. Taken to court, he was convicted and fined nearly $12,000 and given 2 years of probabtion. What was his crime? Well, Adam Smith-Connor was standing on a street where there was an abortion clinic, with his back turned from the abortion clinic, he closed his eyes, bowed his head, and clasped his hands while he prayed silently. When confronted, he was arrested, taken to court and convicted.

Now if he had been standing in the same posture, in the same location, but thinking about a math problem, or how to get to his next location on Google Maps, he would have been fine. His crime was, he was talking to God. They decided that that was harmful to the abortion clinic, convicted him of anti-social behavior, and this case becomes a precedent for the first ever thought-crime conviction in the United Kingdom.

He’s guilty…of thinking thoughts of which the government does not approve. Well, that could nnever happen here, right? Well, let’s talk.

Ericka Andersen, “A warning for all Christian organizations,” October 17, 2024.

Daniel R. Suhr, “Jailed for exercising your right to free expression?” October 10, 2024.

Bethel McGrew, “Pope Francis strays from doctrine…again,” September 23, 2024.

Jesus Christ left to his church a charge that we call the Great Commission. He told us to go and as we go to make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe everything that he commanded. But as human history seems to be coming to a conclusion, how do we accelerate the spread of the gospel to the nations in these last days. Let me tell you about what’s happening in the global church.

Justin Schell, “Lausanne at 50: Effective Mission Still Depends on Right Theology,” July 16, 2024.