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Want to listen instead of read? You can hear the audio version of this article on Episode 18 of The Natasha Crain Podcast.

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I had a revelation last week that, in retrospect, was many years overdue. So overdue that it borders on embarrassing to admit this was a revelation in 2022. Here it is:

Mainstream media doesn’t try to be objective.

Now, before you laugh too hard, let me make a clear distinction: I’ve long known mainstream media is not objective. But I had strangely held onto the assumption that they thought they were being objective and just woefully lacked enough self-awareness to see how crazily biased they were.

What I realized last week is that of course they know how biased they are…whether they’ve ever stopped to acknowledge the changed nature of so-called “news” or not. We’ve simply drifted over time into a land where the unstated new normal is that virtually all news is essentially op-ed.

Perhaps the reason I naively held onto the idea that news is inherently supposed to be objective is that I started out as a broadcast journalism major in college. Way back in the ancient days of 1994, I was taking classes that presupposed every good journalist sought to be objective. Our news story homework assignments would come back to us with the finest of edits, designed to carefully root out any trace of bias. After all, if we ever wanted a shot at working for places as heralded as CNN was at the time, we had to learn how to be…unbiased.

What a crazy thought today.

Not only is mainstream media not trying to be objective, but they’re also openly advocating for specific viewpoints. And not only are they openly advocating for specific viewpoints, but they’re also strategically manipulating public thought.

Psychological manipulation over time in the search for control over people’s thinking is called gaslighting. It’s the process of making someone believe they’re crazy and question their entire view of reality.

Maybe that sounds dramatic, but I don’t think it is. There is a coordinated effort amongst mainstream media sources to achieve a specific type of public influence today—an influence directed toward achieving a uniformity of thought that’s nearly always at odds with a Christian worldview.

While Christians realize this to varying degrees, I don’t believe we’re collectively thinking enough through the implications of just how much this media sea change has affected, is affecting, and will affect both our own worldview and the worldview of those around us. 

Consider the significance of the following five implicit messages that mainstream media constantly trumpets in a variety of ways.

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There are few things more controversial than whether Christians should be involved with politics, and if so, to what degree and how that involvement should happen. In this episode, I break down two basic premises for thinking well about this subject:

1. Christians have the right, politically speaking, to advocate for our views in the public square.

2. Christians have the calling, spiritually speaking, to advocate for the good of others.

I then respond to seven common objections to Christian political involvement. These (errant) ideas are unfortunately found throughout Pastor Andy Stanley’s new book, Not In It to Win It, so I use quotes from that book as a case study to show the problems with such thinking. (To be clear, these are problems I believe there are with what he wrote, not problems he is presenting.)

The objections to involvement that I address are:

1. People don’t like the church when we focus on politics.

2. Neither party represents Christianity, so Christians shouldn’t be known to be affiliated with a specific party.

3. You can’t change people’s hearts by changing laws.

4. Nation changing wasn’t part of Jesus’s mission, so it shouldn’t be part of ours.

5. In “fighting” for our rights, we’re not putting others first.

6. Politics create division and division is the enemy.

7. Politically concerned Christians just want to “get our way” or gain “power.”

There ARE unhealthy mixes of faith and politics, but that’s not the subject of this episode (though I do acknowledge those a bit as I address the above points). My purpose here is to address those who are cautioning Christians to stay out of politics in significant ways. I think that is a grave mistake.

Search for The Natasha Crain Podcast on your player to listen (links here), or listen in your browser below!

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With the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion potentially pointing to Roe v. Wade being overturned, social media is on fire with pro-choice advocates sharing memes intended to portray abortion “rights” as necessary, important, and even morally good.

For those of us who believe intentionally killing preborn human beings is murder (the unjustified taking of innocent human life), it’s absolutely heartbreaking to see so many people passionately advocating for the right to commit such an act. In response, many Christians have taken to private social media groups to share examples of pro-choice memes and discuss how best to respond.

While it’s not necessary to respond to every post you come across (there aren’t enough hours in the day!), I’m heartened to see so many Christians wanting to address what they’re seeing. That said, I’ve noticed that many people’s responses are missing the key point of the debate as much as the memes themselves are.

As such, I wanted to write this article to respond to several viral pro-choice memes and show how to maintain focus on the core issue without getting pulled into irrelevant other subjects. But first, a critical distinction must be understood.

Distinguishing Worldview Disagreements from Logically Fallacious Red Herrings

Imagine that you come across someone posting the following on social media: “I’m an atheist. I do not believe anything exists beyond the natural world, and therefore I do not believe in the existence of objective morality. Nothing is morally right or wrong, so I’m pro-choice because I believe there’s nothing wrong with ending the life of an unborn baby.”

In this case, the pro-choice advocate is merely being consistent within their own naturalistic worldview. They believe morality is only a matter of opinion, given their view of the nature of the universe. If a Christian is pro-life as a logical outworking of their biblical worldview and an atheist is pro-choice as a logical outworking of their naturalistic worldview, the ensuing conversation isn’t so much about abortion as it is about their respective underlying worldview assumptions.

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In my latest podcast, I’m joined by best-selling author and nationally known speaker Dr. Frank Turek. Frank has a fascinating new book out called Hollywood Heroes: How Your Favorite Movies Reveal God. Hollywood Heroes shows how our culture’s favorite movie heroes are patterned after the ultimate hero—Jesus of Nazareth—and how the stories we see played out on the big screen parallel the real-world fight between good and evil. This is a unique and powerful book for starting faith conversations with people you may otherwise have trouble engaging with…especially teens! In this episode, we walk through examples from the book, show how they can be used to initiate conversations, and discuss the importance of Christians engaging with culture.

To listen, search for “The Natasha Crain Podcast” on your player (be sure to subscribe!) or find direct links here. You can also listen in your browser by clicking on the episode player below. 

Mentioned in the show:

• Frank’s website: CrossExamined.org
• Frank’s radio broadcast with Pastor Jack Hibbs on California bill AB-2223: https://crossexamined.org/jack-hibbs-vs-infanticide/
• For more on AB-2223, see this brief article from Focus on the Family: https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/california-legislation-would-decriminalize-killing-newborns/
• Hollywood Heroes information and purchase links: https://hollywoodheroesbook.com/
• Information on and application for Cross Examined Instructor Academy: https://crossexamined.org/what-is-cia/
• Follow Frank and CrossExamined on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CrossExamined.org), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/drfrankturek/), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/CrossExamined). 

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve been able to record a new podcast episode, given my limited time as I prepared for the release of my new book Faithfully Different: Regaining Biblical Clarity in a Secular Culture. But I think you’ll find that today’s episode was worth the wait!

In this show, apologist Alisa Childers and I break down several recurring themes in progressive Christian writings, using a recent best-selling progressive Christian book as a case study: If God is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk by John Pavlovitz. For example, we talk about progressive Christian ideas such as the following from a biblical perspective (there are more covered in the show):

• God has pretty much only one attribute: love.
• The Bible has some good stuff…and lots of bad stuff. We need to sift through it to determine what’s good.
• The measuring stick of religion is if it’s helpful (rather than if it’s true).
• People are fundamentally good.
• Evangelicals think they’re in a place of authority or moral high ground over others when they call out sin.

I think you’re going to really enjoy this conversation! If you don’t already subscribe to the podcast, search for “The Natasha Crain Podcast” on your player or find direct links here. You can also listen in your browser by clicking on the episode player below. Note that this IS a long episode–you may need to listen in parts–but I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s well worth it. We covered a lot of interesting and important ground.

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I’m so excited to announce that my new book, Faithfully Different: Regaining Biblical Clarity in a Secular Culture, is out TODAY!

The feedback on Faithfully Different from the launch team (early readers) has been amazing. You can read these early reviews that are beginning to come in on Goodreads and Amazon.

So what, exactly, is Faithfully Different about, and how will it help YOU? I think the back cover does a great job of explaining that, so I’ll share that brief text here:

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WELCOME TO YOUR PLACE IN A WORLDVIEW MINORITY

In an increasingly secular society, those who have a biblical worldview are now a shrinking minority. As mainstream culture grows more hostile toward the Bible’s truths and those who embrace them, you’ll face mounting pressures–from family, friends, media, academia, and government–to change and even abandon your beliefs. But these challenges also create abundant opportunities to stand strong for Christ and reveal his light to those hurt by the darkness of our day.

In Faithfully Different, author and apologist Natasha Crain shares how you can live out your faith with conviction, discernment, and courage. You’ll be equipped to:

• identify and respond to today’s most significant worldview pressures, such as cancel culture, secular social justice, progressive Christianity, deconstruction, virtue signaling, and more
• engage effectively with a world that ridicules biblical truths
• defend your faith from misguided influences and live as a bold witness for the Lord

As the standards of the day mutate and devolve, Faithfully Different will give you the insight and encouragement you need to believe, think, and live biblically no matter what you face in these turbulent times.

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Hey everyone! I’m the guest on today’s Focus on the Family radio broadcast! We talk about equipping your kids’ faith for a challenging culture, based on questions from my book Talking with Your Kids about Jesus. (To be clear, for those who have seen or heard me on Focus on the Family before, this is a NEW episode that is airing for the first time today.)

Check it out on local radio, through your podcast player (search for Focus on the Family daily broadcast), or through the YouTube video here:

If you don’t already have a copy of Talking with Your Kids about Jesus, Focus on the Family will send you a copy in exchange for a gift of any amount today (just call 1-800-A-Family or click here).

And don’t forget that Talking with Your Kids about Jesus is now available as a 6-session video curriculum as well. The package is available at online retailers, and the videos are available through RightNow Media (free if your church has a subscription). If you’re interested in leading the study at your church, consider sharing today’s Focus on the Family interview with your church’s leadership to introduce the book and the importance of equipping parents with an understanding of questions like these.

Enjoy the interview!

This weekend, Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong played a character called Goober the Clown who had an abortion when she was 23 and now talks to people about how normal abortion is in between clown jokes.

Goober explains that it’s a “rough” subject, so she does fun clown stuff to make it more “palatable.” In the context of her skit, saying that it’s a rough subject wasn’t a tacit admission that abortion is in some way wrong; it was a condemnation of those who make it rough to talk about because they have a problem with it.

If you can stomach it, you can watch the 4 minute clip here.

Yes, the intentional killing of preborn babies has become fodder for a comedy skit—something literally worth clowning around about.

Every single one of us should be asking how on earth we, as a culture, have arrived at such a moment.

If we’re not asking that question, we’ve become completely desensitized to evil.

In one sense, the question of how we got “here” is a complex one worth hundreds of pages of historical, philosophical, political, and theological history. (And if you’re looking for something of that nature, I can think of no better resource than Carl Trueman’s The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution.)

But in another sense, the question is far more straightforward when you understand the nature of the secular worldview that dominates our culture.

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Before you read on to the main post, this is a quick SPECIAL NOTE for anyone who may have missed my announcement last week on social media: As a pre-order bonus for Faithfully Different, my publisher is offering the audiobook for FREE! I’m really excited about the audiobook, because I’ll be the one reading it, which is something I haven’t done before. So if you’ve been enjoying my podcast, think of this as a multi-episode podcast series you get to go along with the book! And if you’re primarily an audiobook listener, you can give your hard copy away to a friend as a gift. It’s a win-win. All you have to do to redeem the offer is fill out the brief form here. Now, on to the main post…

I’m excited to announce that now through the end of THIS WEEK (November 14th), we’re accepting applications to be part of the launch team for Faithfully Different: Regaining Biblical Clarity in a Secular Culture (releasing February 8th)! If you missed the announcement last month, you can learn more about the book, check out the endorsements, and view the table of contents here.

So what, exactly, is a launch team?

A launch team is a group of people who are excited about the release of a new book, want the opportunity to read it before anyone else, and are willing to help the author spread the word leading up to and after the release. 

If you’re excited about Faithfully Different and its message–how Christians can regain biblical clarity in a secular culture rather than letting culture secularize our faith–I’d love to have you join the team.

What You Get

As a launch team member, you’ll receive the following:

• A FREE physical copy of the book before release day (US continental addresses only).
• A digital version of the book in early December—two full months before it’s publicly available (this is for both US and international launch team members)!
• Membership in a private Facebook group with me and the rest of the launch team, where we’ll read through the book together, have engaging discussions, and collaborate on how to get the word out about Faithfully Different. You’ll have the opportunity to connect with like-minded Christians, participate in great discussions, win ongoing prizes, and ask me any questions you’d like.
• The unique behind-the-scenes experience of launching a new book into the world!

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Want to listen instead of read? You can hear the audio version of this article on Episode 13 of The Natasha Crain Podcast.

Last month, the CEO of video game maker Tripwire Interactive was made to step down from his job just 53 hours after he tweeted support for the new Texas abortion law (which banned abortion after the baby’s heartbeat can be detected). Here’s the offensive tweet that apparently warranted the loss of his job:

“Proud of #USSupremeCourt affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat. As an entertainer I don’t get political often. Yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of this issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer.”

That’s it.

That’s it.

He merely stated his view that he supports protecting unborn babies from being killed. But having a different view was too much for cancel culture to handle. The pressure came quickly. A co-developer, Shipwright Studios, tweeted a statement the next day in which they said they would be canceling any existing contracts with Tripwire Interactive because they could not in “good conscience continue to work with Tripwire under the current leadership structure”:

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