The great theologian and reformer, John Calvin, studied law before his conversion and service to the Lord as a pastor and teacher. He later wrote and taught on the use and purpose of God’s law: 1] It shows the way of perfect righteousness and also reveals to us how great is our sin. 2] It helps to restrain evil and maintain order in society. 3] It continues to guide believers in terms of our duty.

Gallup recently released poll results showing that 7.2% of American adults identify as "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual." When Gallup first started measuring LGBT statistics in 2012, this number was 3.5%, which means that the LGBT community as a proportion of the U.S. population has doubled over the last ten years.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control is sending out an LGBTQ inclusive self-assessment guide to all schools in the country. The agency wants to find out how committed schools are to providing a safe and inclusive environment for these students. The CDC’s school health division believes that when schools provide such an environment for gay and transgender students, it will improve the health and success of all students.

For Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.” That’s particularly embarrassing for her because a sitting mayor is supposed to be reelected. She failed to impress voters, yet announced that Chicago moved forward during her term. Voters disagreed. Opponents pointed out the rise in crime and a consistently divisive leadership style. So who is next up?

When the Equitable Restrooms bill was introduced in Springfield, a familiar pattern started to emerge. As IFI readers know, HB1286 legalizes “all-gender, multiple-occupancy restrooms” in sporting complexes, stadiums, entertainment centers, conference centers, and other big venues in Illinois. Yes, “all-gender” is just what it sounds like – males and females using the same multiple-occupancy restroom at the same time, anytime. There are urinals and stalls and partitions.

With the vast number of books, movies, and songs written commiserating the consequences of bad choices (which would include most every Country and Western song written), one would think that young Americans would not need to be told to think carefully about their choices in life.  A popular British band sang, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” not that long ago, but America’s youth apparently never got the memo! 

According to Plato the two most important questions for society is who will teach the children and what is taught to them. That was true 2,500 years ago and it is still true today. Sadly, today there simply is no agreement on who teaches the children and nothing but confusion and wildly different positions on what should be taught. Therein lies the greatest threat to children in our modern age.

The Associated Press Stylebook, a preeminent reference guide for English grammar and journalistic principles and style—used by both educators and journalists—has chosen some eyebrow-raising guidelines for how reporters ought to address the topic of abortion in their reports. These guidelines show us, on a much more subtle level, how fiddling with words is fiddling with minds. Let's look at one specific example in detail: the difference between "unborn baby" and "fetus."

During the Illinois House Human Services Committee hearing on Wednesday morning, State Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Collinsville) brought forth her bill to amend the so-called "Equitable Restroom Act" to push the nonsensical transgender agenda on our families with co-ed bathrooms. Her bill (HB 1286) allows publicly or privately owned venues to create or convert their "multiple-occupancy restrooms" into "all-gender multiple-occupancy restroom[s]" so that multiple males and females will be using the same restroom at the same time.

If one State Senator has his way, Illinois will become a center for gender affirmation care for children—which is just a euphemism for chemical castration and surgical mutilation of children. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) district, recently introduced SB 1283 which is to be known as the “Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act.” He introduced the bill as a response to several states outlawing puberty blockers, hormone therapy and cosmetic surgery that makes the child appear to be the opposite of the child’s birth sex.

It seems an odd place for woke ideology and degenerating ideas of gender, sexuality, and basic biology to play out, but even public restrooms are not safe with leftists in the Illinois state house. Even as some businesses and schools have opted to make available unisex bathroom facilities, this has not been required by law. But that may be about to change.

During the mid-90’s international condemnation was directed at the practice of female circumcision, a euphemism for female genital mutilation. Did you know that The Female Genital Mutilation Act of 1996, which outlawed the procedure in all 50 States and it made it a crime to take a child to another country for that purpose as well, passed with substantial bipartisan support?

I just read an op-ed from a feminist author, published by CNN, who I will leave unnamed (no need to give her career free publicity), attacking the concept of parental rights... The irony is she believes schoolteachers, physicians and politicians SHOULD have the right to facilitate major life-changes for these impressionable young people.

In late May of 2021, the Illinois General Assembly jammed through SB 818, a bill to require so-called "comprehensive sex-education" to be taught in public schools, starting in kindergarten through 12th grade. It was signed by Governor JB Pritzker and became law on August 20, 2021, despite the hue and cry of parents and grandparents throughout the state. Public schools that taught health and safety classes would have to now teach left-wing sexuality classes to our impressionable young students.

Pastor Derek Buikema asks professor, theologian, and author Dr. Carl Trueman to explain a bit about “expressive individualism,” the subject of Dr. Trueman’s important book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution.