Tag faith and culture

America’s Crisis Is Not Biblical Illiteracy — It Is the Absence of the Living God

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Introduction

As America reflects on its moral and cultural upheaval, many commentators have pointed to biblical illiteracy as the nation’s defining crisis. They warn that without the vocabulary of Scripture, society loses the categories necessary to sustain truth, virtue, and freedom. This concern is understandable, and the erosion of biblical language in public life is undeniable. Yet Scripture itself teaches that the collapse of a nation does not begin with the loss of religious vocabulary but with the loss of the Living God Himself. America’s crisis is not merely that it has forgotten the words of Scripture; it is that it has forgotten the Lord of Scripture.

The Root of National Collapse

Throughout the biblical narrative, nations do not fall because they lack access to truth. They fall because they reject the God who gives it. The prophet Hosea declared, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6), yet the knowledge they lacked was not academic. It was relational. God continues, “Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.” The issue was not literacy but lordship. Israel possessed the Scriptures, the priesthood, the temple, and the covenant, yet repeatedly turned to idols. Their downfall came not from ignorance but from unfaithfulness.

America’s Present Moment

This distinction is crucial for understanding America’s present moment. The United States has more access to Scripture than any nation in history. Bibles fill our shelves, apps fill our phones, sermons fill our feeds, and theological resources are available at the tap of a screen. If biblical literacy alone could preserve a nation, America would be the most stable society on earth. Yet the opposite is true. The problem is not that we lack the text but that we have abandoned the God who speaks through it.

Jesus’ Confrontation with Biblical Literacy

Jesus confronted this very condition in His own generation. The Pharisees were the most biblically literate people of their time, yet He told them, “Ye search the Scriptures… and they are they which testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life” (John 5:39–40). They possessed the vocabulary of truth but resisted the Person of Truth. Their crisis was not interpretive but spiritual. In all their study, they had not found Christ.

The Example of Saul of Tarsus

The life of Saul of Tarsus underscores this reality with striking force. Trained under Gamaliel, zealous for the law, and fluent in the theological categories of his day, Saul embodied the very literacy many believe America must recover. Yet his mastery of Scripture led him to persecute the Church, not embrace Christ. Only when he encountered the risen Lord did the Scriptures he knew so well come alive. Reflecting on his former achievements, he wrote, “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ… and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Philippians 3:7–8). His transformation came not through further education but through new birth.

The Crisis of the Church

This is the heart of America’s crisis. We have built churches that teach principles but do not produce disciples. We have created religious environments that inform the mind but do not transform the heart. We have defended biblical values while neglecting biblical obedience. We have celebrated Christian heritage while resisting Christian holiness. The result is a nation shaped by the language of faith but untouched by the life of God.

The Call to Discipleship

Jesus did not establish seminaries; He established disciples. He did not say, “Take My course,” but “Follow Me.” Discipleship is not an academic exercise but a supernatural work of the Spirit. It is the process by which men and women are born again, conformed to the image of Christ, and empowered to live as witnesses in a darkened world. When the Church abandons this calling, the nation loses its light. When the salt loses its savor, the culture decays. When the people of God trade the Living Word for religious substitutes, the nation loses the moral clarity only God can give.

The Loss of Biblical Life

The Scriptures warn repeatedly that when a people forget the Lord, they lose far more than vocabulary. They lose the very life that sustains righteousness. Moses told Israel, “It is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life” (Deuteronomy 32:47). Jeremiah declared, “My people have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 2:13). Jesus said, “Without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). The crisis of America is not the absence of biblical language but the absence of biblical life.

The Path to Moral Recovery

If America is to recover its moral footing, the Church must recover its spiritual power. We must return to the fear of the Lord, the necessity of repentance, the reality of the new birth, and the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit. We must proclaim the gospel not as a cultural artifact but as the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). We must teach the Scriptures not merely to inform minds but to form hearts. We must once again become a people who do not simply read the Word but are read by it.

The Biblical Foundation for Liberty

John Adams famously warned, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” His concern was not institutional religion but the inner moral restraint necessary for liberty to survive. Yet Scripture goes further still. It does not teach that religion upholds a nation, for religion has toppled empires and fueled oppression. Rather, the Bible declares, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Holiness, not mere religiosity, sustains a people. And righteousness does not arise from education or tradition but from hearts transformed by the living God. A nation may be religious and still be corrupt; it may be biblically literate and still be spiritually dead. Only a people submitted to the Lord can sustain the freedoms they celebrate.

NO KINGS: AN EPISTLE FOR A FRACTURED NATION

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Introduction: A Nation at a Crossroads

As the United States approaches its two‑hundred‑and‑fiftieth year, we stand at a moment demanding sober reflection. Nations rarely collapse in a single day; they erode slowly, subtly, and predictably. Scripture gives us a mirror in the Book of Judges—a mirror reflecting not only ancient Israel but the modern American condition. Judges is not a children’s tale; it is a national autopsy. Israel had law, covenant, history, and identity, yet the nation disintegrated because it rejected the One who was meant to be its King.

The refrain that echoes through its pages is both diagnosis and verdict: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” [Judges 21:25]. This was not enlightenment but erosion, not progress but decay, not liberation but fragmentation.

The Meaning of “No King”

When Scripture declares that Israel had “no king,” it is not describing a political vacuum but a spiritual rebellion. Israel possessed the Law of Moses, the priesthood, the tabernacle, and the memory of God’s mighty acts. What they lacked was a shared center—a unifying authority, a common truth, a moral anchor. They had law but no loyalty, commandments but no commitment, structure but no submission. Thus the psalmist warns: “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” [Psalm 127:1].

Judges as a Mirror: Collapse Without a Center

Judges 2 summarizes Israel’s downfall: “They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked.” [Judges 2:17]. Their turning was swift and intentional. The result was a cycle of rebellion, oppression, desperation, deliverance, and relapse. The judges God raised up brought temporary relief but no lasting transformation, for the people desired rescue without repentance and deliverance without discipleship.

Micah’s homemade religion in Judges 17–18 reveals the heart of the problem. He did not reject religion; he reinvented it. He fashioned idols, hired his own priest, and declared God’s blessing on his own terms. Scripture summarizes this moment with chilling clarity: “Every man did what was right in his own eyes.” [Judges 17:6]. This is the ancient form of what our culture now calls “my truth,” “my reality,” and “my identity.”

The final chapters of Judges show the inevitable end of such thinking: violence, civil war, and near‑annihilation. When a society loses its shared moral center, justice becomes impossible, violence becomes inevitable, and unity becomes unattainable.

A Fractured Republic: Law Without Lordship

As America approaches its 250th year, we must acknowledge that we are no longer a truly “United” States but a fractured one. We possess a supreme law in the Constitution, a Supreme Court, a legislature, and an executive branch. Yet without a shared moral center, even the strongest institutions fracture. We are witnessing the modern expression of Judges: competing truths, competing realities, competing identities, and competing moralities.

The Constitution was never intended to be a self‑sustaining moral engine. It was built upon the assumption that the people themselves possessed a common understanding of right and wrong. John Adams warned that it was made “only for a moral and religious people,” and Scripture affirms the same truth: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” [Proverbs 14:34].

But today we possess law without loyalty, rights without righteousness, freedom without foundation, and unity without a unifying truth. This is the modern expression of the ancient refrain: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” [Judges 21:25]. When truth becomes subjective, law becomes negotiable. When morality becomes personal, justice becomes impossible. When identity becomes tribal, unity becomes unattainable.

Scripture warns: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” [Psalm 11:3]. A republic without a shared center cannot remain a republic for long.

A People Who Expect Judges to Do Their Righteousness

There is a tragic irony in our present moment: we have become a people who look to judges to do what we ourselves refuse to do. We demand that courts “judge rightly” while we neglect the weightier matters of the law in our own daily lives. We expect the judiciary to act justly while we abandon justice in our dealings with our neighbors.

Yet Scripture does not assign righteousness to the courts; it assigns it to the people of God. The prophet declares: “He has shown you, O man, what is good… to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” [Micah 6:8]. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for the same hypocrisy: “You neglect the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” [Matthew 23:23]. Isaiah warned a nation seeking legal remedies while refusing moral repentance: “Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean.” [Isaiah 1:15–16].

John Adams understood this biblical truth: a righteous people do not need to be governed by an army of judges, for righteousness governs them from within. But an unruly people—a people who reject the King—will always become a mob, and mobs cannot sustain a republic.

Christ the Cornerstone

The answer to Israel’s chaos was not merely the arrival of a human king but the restoration of divine kingship. The psalmist declares: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” [Psalm 33:12]. And the call of 2 Chronicles is not addressed to the world but to the people of God: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray…” [2 Chronicles 7:14].

Jesus Christ is not merely a king; He is the King. He is the Chief Cornerstone [Ephesians 2:20], the Rock [1 Corinthians 10:4], the Foundation that cannot be shaken [Hebrews 12:28], and the King of kings and Lord of lords [Revelation 19:16]. Nations tremble, empires fall, republics rise and collapse, but those who build upon the Rock will stand.

Our Lord declared: “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” [Matthew 7:24]. When the storms come—and they will—the house built upon the Rock will not fall.

Conclusion: Return to the King

Judges is not ancient history; it is a prophetic warning. A society without a King—without a shared center of truth—does not rise into progress; it collapses into Judges. But a people whose King is the King of kings and Lord of lords can stand firm even when the nations tremble.

Let us return to the King. Let us build upon the Rock. Let us stand upon the unshakable foundation of God’s Word, for those who trust in Him will never be moved.

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ, the only true King, the Cornerstone who holds all things together. Amen

THE DIGITAL GARDEN: A MODERN PARABLE OF BLAME, BOUNDARIES, AND THE ANCIENT SERPENT

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

The Story in the News

This week, a story appeared in the news. It is the kind that slips past most people. This happens because it feels ordinary now. A child wandered through the digital wilderness for long hours. When the consequences finally surfaced, the courtroom lights turned toward the platforms that hosted her wandering. The verdict was loud. The headlines were louder. The chorus was familiar: someone else is responsible for what happened in my garden. It is an old song, older than lawsuits and algorithms, older than screens and social feeds. It is the first melody humanity ever sang after tasting forbidden fruit.

The Original Garden and Its Boundary

In the beginning, the garden was simple. God planted it with beauty and purpose, and He placed the man within it to tend and keep it. And God, in His wisdom, established a safeguard. Scripture says, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). The boundary was clear. The command was simple. The safeguard was unmistakable. It was not a fence or a wall. It was a word, a divine line drawn for the protection of innocence.

The Temptation’s Allure

The tree itself was not poisonous. It was not ugly. It was not repulsive. Scripture says, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat” (Genesis 3:6). The temptation was not wrapped in darkness but in beauty. It was lovely to look at. It promised wisdom. It offered insight. It held the allure of knowledge. This was the knowledge of good and evil. It was the entire spectrum of human experience condensed into a single bite.

The Digital Parallel

Tell me that does not resemble the glowing rectangles we place into the hands of children today. Tell me that does not mirror the endless feeds of social media. Good and evil swirl together in a single stream. Beauty and corruption sit side by side. Wisdom and foolishness are offered without restraint. The serpent has not changed his strategy. He has simply updated the interface.

The First Human Response: Blame

And when the consequences came in Eden, the ancient instinct awakened. God called to the man and said, “Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9). Not because He lacked knowledge, but because the man had abandoned his post. And when confronted, Adam did not confess. He deflected. “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (Genesis 3:12). Eve followed the same path. “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (Genesis 3:13). The first human response to sin was not repentance but blame. The man blamed the woman. The woman blamed the serpent. And humanity has been outsourcing responsibility ever since.

Modern-Day Replays

We are watching the same scene replayed in courtrooms today. A child wanders through the digital garden. A parent hands over the device. A platform profits from the wandering. And when the harm surfaces, the finger points outward. The serpent is sued. The tree is examined. The garden is scrutinized. The designer is blamed. Anything but the one who opened the gate.

The Parental Responsibility

It is like a parent purchasing a plane ticket for a child. They pack the bags. They walk the child to the gate. They wave goodbye as the child boards a flight to a city the parent has never visited. The child lands and wanders the streets alone. The child becomes frightened and overwhelmed. Then the parent sues the airline for “transporting a minor.” The airline did not kidnap the child. The parent purchased the ticket. The parent enabled the journey. The parent opened the way. Yet the blame shifts upward, never inward.

The Tree’s Beauty and the Lost Boundary

A lawyer appeared on television this week. He spoke of the platforms’ design as “lovely to look at” and “crafted to draw children in.” He meant it as an indictment of modern technology, but he accidentally quoted Moses. The tree was pleasant to the eyes. The fruit was desirable to make one wise. The temptation was not in its ugliness but in its beauty. And the safeguard was not in the tree but in the command: do not eat.

The garden had a boundary. The home once had boundaries. But in this generation, the boundaries have been erased. We place glowing trees of knowledge into the hands of children and remove every safeguard God once placed around innocence. Then when the consequences come, we seek a payday to ease our guilt and soothe our conscience. We look for settlements instead of repentance. We seek compensation instead of correction. We prefer a judgment that pays rather than a judgment that purifies.

Divine Justice and Accountability

But Scripture says, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). The Judge of all the earth does not accept excuses. He does not settle cases with hush money. He does not allow blame to be passed like a hot coal from hand to hand. He weighs motives. He examines hearts. He judges actions, not intentions. “For the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed” (1 Samuel 2:3).

Children as Divine Heritage

One truth stands firm. It cannot be litigated away, ignored, or outsourced. It is written in the very breath of Scripture. Children do not belong to the state, the school, the platform, the algorithm, or the culture. They belong to the Lord. Scripture declares, “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward” (Psalm 127:3). A heritage is not a hobby. A reward is not a burden. A child is not a digital consumer to be managed by corporations. Nor is a child a social media performer to be applauded by strangers. A child is a trust placed in the hands of parents by God Himself.

The Divine Command to Parents

And with that trust comes a command, not a suggestion. Scripture does not say, “If convenient, guide them.” It does not say, “If culture approves, instruct them.” It does not say, “If you have time, shape them.” It says, “Train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6). The verb is active. The responsibility is direct. The assignment is divine. Parents are not permitted to abdicate this calling, nor to hand it over to screens, systems, or artificial intelligence.

The Parental Role in Nurture and Admonition

The Lord did not give the task of training children to devices. He did not give it to algorithms. He did not give it to platforms. He gave it to fathers and mothers. Scripture says, “And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). The nurture belongs to the parent. The admonition belongs to the parent. The shaping of the heart belongs to the parent. The guarding of the gate belongs to the parent.

The Reality of Accountability

We cannot sue our way out of the consequences of abdicated stewardship. We cannot litigate our way out of the responsibilities God placed in our hands. We cannot purchase innocence with payouts. We cannot outsource accountability to corporations and courts. The serpent is real. The fruit is tempting. The garden is vulnerable. And the ones entrusted with its care are still accountable before God.

The Judge’s Expectation

The Judge still walks into the garden. He still calls out, “Where art thou?” And He still expects an answer.