We have arrived at a point where identity is something like a choose-your-own-adventure novel. It is an authoritative fiction, unmoored from any normative tradition, determined by neither religion, nor biology; imposed by neither ethnicity, nor geography. In fact nothing can determine one’s identity except the decision of the individual to be a type of person. However, this philosophy of self-creation and the multiplicity of identities it spawns will inevitably collapse under the weight of its own incredulity.

The latest in a long line of studies, now numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands, shows that church attendance is good for your health. Published in May by researchers from Vanderbilt University, the study found that middle-aged adults who attended religious services at least once in the past year were half as likely to die prematurely as those who didn’t.

I used to be a pacifist who thought the Bible taught pacifism. After many years of studying the question of the Church’s ethics of warfare, I came to the opposite conclusion: warfare can, under certain circumstances and undertaken with a certain disposition, be a just activity. It is a just activity, not merely a necessary thing that is bad.

We should dream big in serving for God. Ambition is a necessary part of the church’s mission in the world, and that includes our own big, lofty goals. But how do we guard against those lofty plans really just expressing our own self-aggrandizement? John Piper offers wise advice.

The case of Charlie Gard, a terminally ill infant in England, has raised questions around the world about whether the state has the right to block parental rights to prevent further suffering of a child. Here is an analysis by Joe Carter of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

This summer, churches everywhere are weighing which Bible studies to offer in the fall. With all the busyness typical of our lives, churches face the question: What gets people to commit to faithful participation in a weekly Bible study? Though many may start, few of them finish.

I’ve been in ordained vocational ministry for 42 years. Many who started with me didn’t get to the finish line. It’s a grievous percentage. One of the main reasons so many didn’t last, I think, is because no one warned them about the ways ministry can tempt you with pride. Here are three ways ministry can make you conceited unless God intervenes. Pastors, be warned.

What if we could develop a message about modesty that wasn't shame based and didn't cause anyone to stumble — boy or girl? I think the answer is to stop focusing on bodies and on rules and start focusing instead on Jesus. I raised two beautiful girls who did dress modestly, and yet I don't remember ever using the word "modest" with them or talking with them about being a stumbling block. Instead, we just focused on who they were in Christ.

To Martin Luther, there is the kingdom of Christ, which is a spiritual realm, and there is the kingdom of world, which is a natural realm. Luther believed that Christians live in both realms and have to learn to navigate life in both without conflating the two realms.

Stephanie Gray is a Canadian pro-life apologist. She travels the world making the case for the humanity and personhood of the unborn. She’s co-founder of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform and now leads a ministry called Love Unleashes Life. Her talk at Google just a few days ago wasn’t just unprecedented, it was amazing. In fact, within 24 hours, it surpassed the popularity of another talk by Planned Parenthood president, Cecile Richards.