In a world where so many of the challenges in our state, our nation, and our world seem insurmountable, where should we start? In a world where many of our neighbors and even some self-professing Christians believe prayers are useless and the only thing that counts is “good deeds,” how should we as Christians respond?

Churches throughout Illinois are preparing for this upcoming Easter Sunday. Also known in Christendom as Resurrection Day. It is most certainly the most important of Christian celebrations on the calendar. I mean, what could possibly be more significant and impressive than a man crucified in front of witnesses come back to life a few days later?

It is quite unfortunate that the most important date on the Christian calendar is misnamed! While of uncertain origin, the best guesses are that the title “Easter” is derived from a pagan religion, but that is a subject for another time. My point is, however, that the name gives no indication of the reason for the holiday in the first place, which is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Most Americans see the date as a time for easter egg hunts or to enjoy Spring.

Since its inception in January, the Parents Matter Coalition (“PMC”) has been on a mission to raise awareness, educate the community, and teach Illinoisans how to advocate for their families and push back on the legislators and bureaucrats who think they know better how to parent our children.

What we think is true can have the same effect on us as what is true. We have known this forever. But today, in our post-truth culture, we are becoming less concerned with discovering what is true and more focused on what we feel is true. Public opinion today is shaped more by emotion and personal beliefs than facts. The impact of this post-truth era is profound.

We ended the last piece in the middle of our discussion of the biblical benefits of homeschooling. Jesus tells us that every student, when he is trained fully, will be like his master (Luke 6:40), which prompts us to ask: what kind of masters are my children being trained by? We discussed the godless ideas permeating the public school classroom, but education is more than just ideas. It also involves people. So let's also consider more than just the lessons being taught; what about the people teaching them?

Commenting on a Finland-based study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Oskari Lahtinen, the author of the study, said, “The gender divide was probably most surprising to me. Three out of five women view ‘woke’ ideas positively, but only one out of seven men.”

In a recent piece together, we explored one of the major benefits of homeschooling that greatly impacted me as a student: the freedom that my parents had to tailor my education to my needs. I know many other homeschool families have reaped this benefit from homeschooling as well. Homeschooling parents are able to educate their children according to their individual needs and aptitudes, which often results in a more rigorous and productive education than the standard fare in the public school system.

A bill currently under consideration in the Illinois General Assembly would allow children 12 and up to apply for Medicaid to pay for “family planning” services. Specifically, HB 5473 states: “Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph (2), a minor who is 12 years of age or older may sign and file an application of the minor’s own behalf if such application is for the Article V family planning program enacted by Public Act 102-665 amending Section 5-5 of this Code.”

Hard to believe is was four years ago when the dreaded COVID-19 virus scare virtually shut down America. You recall those days, right? Limited groups were allowed in stores. Schools were doing remote learning. Restaurants had restricted space or even outdoor-only seating. Family events were cancelled, including big weddings and farewell funeral gatherings. 

I often wonder why I torture myself. Each weekday afternoon, I try to stay somewhat literate in what is happening in our world by watching the evening network news. Most every day, I regret it. 

Every American citizen has, among other things, the right and responsibility to vote. If too many fail to take this responsibility seriously, it allows for a few, with bad intentions, to transform the state into an oligarchy or dictatorship!

Since the Alabama Supreme Court ruled on February 16 that frozen embryos should be recognized and protected as unborn children, Democrats have wrongfully alleged that Republicans want to “ban” in vitro fertilization (IVF). Even President Biden made this accusation during the State of the Union address last Thursday. However, this is not true. Republicans are not wanting to ban IVF.

I've been blessed to write several dozen articles for IFI on topics ranging from transgender bathrooms to sports gambling to the politically correct concept of "ableism." It's been a very fun ride. But, peering back through it all—the rants on the artificial fertility lobby and the exposés of abortion politics, the laments over the modern denial of science and the abandonment of logic—I still think back to the very first article I ever wrote for the Institute: COVID Boosted Idea of Educational Freedom.

America is divided, but you already knew that.  There is no place for coming together in many of its disagreements.  The differences are polar opposites, and neither side is willing to yield ground.  This presents a very serious, if not existential, threat to the nation.  Abraham Lincoln, quoting Jesus Christ noted that, “A nation divided against itself cannot stand.”