Discernment Digest

Community Bible Church of Trenton, MI
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Updated Weekly

Living in the information age is an unprecedented privilege, but it can be overwhelming. How do you know what voices to listen to or who you can trust? Discernment Digest will help you sort through today’s headlines and evaluate sources and their content based on the timeless principles of God’s Word, the Bible.

  1. 6d ago

    Why the Founders Feared Direct Democracy: Lessons from "Too Dumb to Fail"

    Review of our Matt Lewis interview ("Too Dumb to Fail", 10th anniversary). Conservatism and a biblical view of human nature; the 2010 Tea Party as warning; why the Founders checked majority passions; Burke vs. Paine/Rousseau; the dumbing down of politics and evangelicalism. Guest appearance does not mean full agreement. Books mentioned Core conservative reading The Conservative Mind — Russell Kirk (Kirk Center, Mecosta, MI)Politics — AristotleThe Conscience of a Conservative — Barry GoldwaterThe Road to Serfdom — F. A. HayekReflections on the Revolution in France — Edmund BurkeIdeas Have Consequences — Richard WeaverWorks that shaped Too Dumb to Fail The Conservative Heart — Arthur BrooksReagan’s Revolution — Craig ShirleyWhen Character Was King — Peggy NoonanThe Great Debate — Yuval LevinAmusing Ourselves to Death — Neil Postman Comments: discern@cbctenton.com

  2. Sep 21

    "Too Dumb to Fail": Matt Lewis on How Conservatism Lost Its Way

    "Too Dumb to Fail": Matt Lewis on Conservatism Conservative columnist Matt K. Lewis traces how the GOP drifted from Reagan’s idea-driven conservatism into a louder, thinner politics of outrage, celebrity, and short-term wins. Drawing on his 2016 book Too Dumb to Fail, Lewis argues that the right didn’t just lose elections—it lost the habit of seriousness: reading its own tradition, policing its own excesses, and treating voters as citizens instead of a market for red meat.This conversation covers the intellectual roots of the movement (Burke, Buckley, Goldwater, Reagan), the rise of anti-intellectual populism, the conservative media incentive problem, fundraising machines that harvest anger more than they win races, and Lewis’s case for “modernize, don’t moderate.” He rejects both snobbish technocracy and know-nothing grievance politics, and asks what it would take for conservatism to compete again as a philosophy rather than a posture.For listeners who care about the future of the Republican Party, the culture-politics feedback loop, and whether conservatism can still mean limited government, free markets, and prudence—not just whoever shouts loudest this week. While our guests and the resources we recommend all provide helpful perspective, their appearance or mention do not imply an endorsement of all views, but instead offer an opportunity to exercise discernment in distinguishing good and bad, right and wrong, better and best. Matt Lewis’s substack, here. 2016 book, Too Dumb to Fail, here. 2023 book, Filthy Rich Politicians, here.

  3. Sep 14

    9/11: Remembering Evil, Discerning Truth, and Trusting God’s Providence

    Twenty-five years after 9/11, what should Christians remember—and what should we learn? In this episode of Discernment Digest, we consider two painful anniversaries: the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and the first anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Along the way, we examine the importance of discerning trustworthy sources, the danger of political advocacy masquerading as journalism, and the temptation to embrace conspiracy theories when the facts don't support them. We also revisit the heroism of the passengers of United Flight 93, including Todd Beamer, whose family has a connection to Community Bible Church. But the episode ultimately moves beyond remembrance to a surprising question: What might God have been doing through the evil of 9/11? We also discuss four ways a missionary describes how the tragedy has unexpectedly contributed to gospel advance among Muslims: increased prayer, increased missionary sending, accelerated conversions to Christ, and the emergence of indigenous Christian leadership. The evil was real. The grief was real. But so is God's providence. As with the cross itself, God is able to accomplish His good purposes through the darkest acts of human evil.

  4. Sep 7

    An Old Debate on the New Right: Freedom, Virtue, and Christian Nationalism

    What happens when the desire for a more moral society becomes a desire for government to make us moral? In this episode of Discernment Digest, we begin with several recent stories and observations that raise questions about justice, conscience, political allegiance, antisemitism, and the cultural consequences of ideas. Then we turn to a debate reshaping the American right: the conflict between classical or “fusionist” conservatism and newer postliberal and Christian nationalist approaches to political power. The story of three generations of the Bozell family provides a fascinating window into that debate. L. Brent Bozell Jr.—brother-in-law of William F. Buckley Jr. and ghostwriter of Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative—eventually rejected limited-government conservatism for a vision in which the state would actively promote virtue and restrain vice. His dispute with fusionist Frank Meyer anticipated many of the arguments conservatives and Christians are having today. How much freedom should a government allow? Should the state merely restrain evil and protect ordered liberty, or should it use political power to cultivate virtue and advance the common good? And what happens when Christians begin looking to government to accomplish work better suited to families, churches, and other institutions of civil society? These aren’t merely theoretical questions. The answers may shape American conservatism—and the church’s relationship to political power—for generations to come.

  5. Aug 31

    When Winning Isn’t Worth It: Politics, Culture, and Christian Integrity

    Can Christians support a politician’s policies without promoting his character? Can we celebrate the talent and generosity of a cultural icon without confusing kindness and spirituality with genuine Christian faith? And when the political stakes seem high enough, is it acceptable to compromise the means in order to achieve the right ends? In this episode of Discernment Digest, we consider Donald Trump, Dolly Parton, and conservative activist Christopher Rufo as three very different case studies in Christian discernment. Along the way, we examine the danger of compartmentalizing our faith, the importance of integrity in our public witness, and why biblical values must govern not only what Christians hope to accomplish, but how we pursue it. Politics may reward winning at almost any cost. Christianity does not. For followers of Christ, faithfulness is never merely a means to an end—it is part of the end itself.

  6. Aug 24

    Does Your Surgeon Need to Be a Christian? Discernment, Expertise, and Common Grace

    What does ranked-choice voting actually accomplish? How can an eye-popping statistic about COVID vaccines turn out to be completely misleading? And what should Christians think when political leaders stretch the boundaries of executive power? In this episode of Discernment Digest, we work through a collection of current events that provide opportunities to practice careful thinking—from elections and vaccine claims to government corruption, constitutional limits, and conspiracy theories. Then we turn to a larger question: Does your surgeon need to be a Christian? Drawing on the biblical doctrines of general revelation and common grace, we consider why Christians can—and should—recognize truth, skill, and expertise even when they come from people who do not share our faith. Biblical discernment means judging ideas by whether they are true, not simply by whether the person saying them is on our side.

  7. Aug 17

    Liberty, Order, and the Common Good

    What happens when individual freedom becomes the highest good? And what happens when society reacts by empowering government to impose a vision of the “common good”? In this episode, we examine the tension between liberty and order through the lens of the biblical worldview. From the excesses of modern liberalism to the growing appeal of postliberalism, we consider why both radical individual autonomy and authoritarian solutions misunderstand human nature. Along the way, we look at Francis Schaeffer’s balance of “freedom and form,” the debate between the individualism of John Locke and the collectivism of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and the danger of pursuing the common good at the expense of individual liberty. Ultimately, you don’t have to master every philosopher or political “ism” to understand the debate. The opening chapters of Genesis give us the categories we need: human beings possess individual dignity, were created for community and meaningful work, and are fallen. Once we understand creation and the Fall, we can better understand why liberty and order must remain in tension—and why neither freedom nor government can bear the weight of becoming absolute.

  8. Aug 10

    Whose Morality? Government, Natural Law, and the Common Good

    How much authority does government really have—and when is a Christian justified in saying no? This week on Discernment Digest, we continue our discussion of government authority by responding to a listener’s question about COVID vaccine mandates and Christian civil disobedience. From there, we consider two competing approaches to politics: accepting nearly unlimited individual liberty as the price of a free society, or using government power to pursue a distinctly Christian vision of the “common good.” Is there another way? We examine the role of natural law in answering that question, consider John MacArthur’s provocative criticism of the American Revolution, and ask why every system of law inevitably reflects somebody’s morality. Then, in our look at current events, we discuss Abdul El-Sayed’s primary victory, the collapse of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case and President Trump’s criticism of Jeanine Pirro, and what Todd Blanche’s confirmation says about checks and balances in American government. It’s another exercise in thinking carefully about government, morality, liberty, and the proper limits of political authority. Links: Dr. Jonathan Sarfati on Creation.com

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Living in the information age is an unprecedented privilege, but it can be overwhelming. How do you know what voices to listen to or who you can trust? Discernment Digest will help you sort through today’s headlines and evaluate sources and their content based on the timeless principles of God’s Word, the Bible.

Information

  • Creator
    Community Bible Church of Trenton, MI
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    38
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Community Bible Church of Trenton, MI
  • Show Website
    Discernment Digest