Father's Day, celebrated on the third Sunday in June (June 15 this year), isn’t typically ranked among the most popular holidays in America. According to various published polls, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Independence Day are much more prominent in terms of widespread participation or cultural significance.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton officially declared the month of June to be recognized as “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.”

America has scrubbed almost every hint of religion from the public square. Prayer is gone from public schools. The Ten Commandments are taken out of courthouses. But one display of religion has been spared the axe: legislative prayer. 

Hey…what’s your sign? I’m a Libra. You know what THAT means…? Absolutely nothing!

The shooting recently of two Israeli diplomats, a couple that were soon to be engaged, was a horrible act of violence. It comes as anti-Semitism in America is increasing on college campuses and elsewhere.

At IFI, we seek to raise awareness of and address cultural and political trends here in Illinois and throughout the nation. An increasing number of these trends pose a threat to human dignity, endangering the lives of image-bearers of the living God from conception to natural death.

Deeds, whether good or bad, must have consequences. Bad deeds must be punished.

Over a million Americans have died in wars over our nearly two-hundred-and-fifty-year history. Considering the cultural and political unrest we are dealing with currently, it may be appropriate to ask just what it was that they died to accomplish and whether we are, after all their sacrifice, at risk of losing it all. Are we now giving away that which cost them so dearly?

There has been an intentional effort underway for several decades to bring down the West. The effort is not an open, direct attack. Rather, it involves eroding the foundations of our culture, eating away at the supports, and corroding the superstructure. The attack is indirect.

“Obscenity isn’t protected by the First Amendment, but hazy and unenforceable legal definitions have allowed extreme pornography to saturate American society and reach countless children.” – Mike Lee

Once dismissed as a niche or outdated source, Christian media is now capturing the attention of a significant portion of the American population. A recent National Religious Broadcasters and Barna Group study, revealing that over 60% of American adults engage with Christian content through various platforms like television, radio, and social media.

No doubt it baffled a significant number of Catholics worldwide when the more-than-100 cardinals at the Conclave earlier this month chose a onetime Chicagoan as their new Pope. A Southsider.

As Gomer Pyle used to say, “Surprise. Surprise. Surprise.”

Prayer is a direct line to communicate with God which helps us to align our hearts and minds with God’s perfect will. (Phil 4:6-7) The Bible commands prayer (1 Thes 5:17, “pray without ceasing”). Prayer is an act of faithfulness to God’s instruction. It is also a selfless act of love when we intercede for others’ needs. (Mat 22:39, Mark 12:31, Lev 19:18)

State Rep. Grasse opened an Illinois House session with a prayer this week that omitted any reference to God as the source of wisdom. She missed the opportunity to offer a prayer expressing gratitude to our Creator—who endowed us with "certain unalienable rights"—and seeking divine guidance for the state's leadership. Such a prayer would be both inclusive and profoundly appropriate.

Yet another school district in the state of Illinois has come under investigation from the Trump Administration– and for good reason.