Hot Topic Issues

A friend of mine recently wrote a post on Facebook and encountered the wrath of several of his social media friends. He innocently asked if anyone wanted a kitten. His young feline pet escaped and became pregnant before she could be spayed. The online assault began almost immediately as friends …

The Easter season often ushers in a period of cultural skepticism and criticism of all things “Christian”. At times like this, the issue of religious “tolerance” is sometimes raised and examined. Christians are often called intolerant, especially when examined under a new definition of tolerance that has emerged in our …

Many Christian pacifists cite the words of Jesus to argue He would never condone any kind of deadly force (in spite of the obvious justifications for killing allowed by the Old Testament Law). They typically cite the following passage (from the Sermon on the Mount) to make their case: Luke …

At a time when the world is still divided by war and conflict, Christians have a duty and responsibility to examine our position related to the use of deadly force. As a homicide detective, this issue has been at the center of my professional life for over twenty-five years. In …

I occasionally present a talk on the nature of truth, and as part of this presentation, I discuss the existence of objective moral truth claims. I often ask my attendees if it is ever “OK” to kill someone. Every group typically contains a large number of people who believe the …

Can a Christian Oppose Abortion Yet Support the Death Penalty? When the recent Kermit Gosnell trial came to an end, the death penalty debate once again captured the attention of the nation. Gosnell was sentenced to several life terms in prison and avoided execution; but the trial caused many Christians …

Mary Elizabeth Williams recently wrote an article for Salon.com entitled, “So What If Abortion Ends Life?” Her work created quite a stir because she took a position (as a an abortion advocate) acknowledging the point of conception as the beginning of life. Rather than argue that the fetal human is not a living human being, Williams said …

Fetal humans become humans from the moment of conception (based on what we’ve learned from both science and Scripture). In addition to this, there are only four distinctions between fetal humans and humans of any other age (including toddlers). Given this foundation, it’s much easier to engage people on the typical justifications offered for the destruction of the …

While hosting the Stand to Reason Radio Show, a caller asked me how to defend an objection related to abortion. A friend asked him how he could be comfortable ending the life of a person on life support, yet uncomfortable ending a life in the womb. He was asked to imagine the scenario of a dying man …

If human life begins at the point of conception (as indicated by science and Scripture), are there any disqualifying differences between humans in the womb and humans outside the womb? Are fetal humans less human than toddlers? Is there status as human persons less certain? If so, why? Stephen Schwartz first identified four differences between fetal humans and …