OpenTheo

Moving Past Despair

May 5, 2021
Life and Books and Everything
Life and Books and EverythingClearly Reformed

When you consider the prospects for Christians right now, you might think they would be in despair. And you might be right. There is a lot of evidence that things are not going well. Kevin, Collin, and Justin look at several specific phenomena that would cause despair. And then they give us things that we can do now to move from that despair and into hope. Plus, there are some great book recommendations!

Life and Books and Everything is sponsored by Crossway, publisher of Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord by Michael Reeves. 

Rejoice and Tremble examines the difference between sinful and godly fear and corrects the negative perception of the fear of God. It is part of a series created in partnership with Union School of Theology to teach Christians to delight in God, grow in Christ, serve the church, and bless the world.  

For 30% off this book and all other books and Bibles at Crossway, sign up for a free Crossway+ account at crossway.org/LBE

Timestamps: 

Have you heard of Michael Reeves? [0:00 – 3:56] 

Life & Football & Everything [3:56 – 7:22] 

How’s COVID-19 going? [7:22 – 25:41] 

Reasons for Current Earthly Despair [25:41 – 44:54] 

* Declining Fertility Rate 

* Declining Church Membership Rate  

* Cultural Institutions Aligned Against Christianity 

* The Speed of the Collapse 

* Race Relations Getting Worse  

Now what do we do? [44:54 – 1:01:56] 

Books & Everything [1:01:56 – 1:15:29] 

Books and Everything: 

Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We've Left Behind, by GraceOlmstead  

A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood: The Bible and the American Civil War,by James Byrd  

Churchill: Walking with Destiny, by Andrew Roberts  

Surviving Religion 101, by Michael Kruger 

The Life of John Murray, by Iain H. Murray  

Survival and Resistance in Evangelical America: Christian Reconstruction in the Pacific Northwest, by Crawford Gribben  

The Soul of Abraham Lincoln, by William Eleazar Barton 

Gilead, by Marilyn Robinson 

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001, byGarrett M. Graff 

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditCopy Link

Transcript

More on OpenTheo

How Can I Improve My Informal Writing?
How Can I Improve My Informal Writing?
#STRask
October 6, 2025
Question about how you can improve your informal writing (e.g., blog posts) when you don’t have access to an editor.   * Do you have any thoughts or
Why Would Any Rational Person Have to Use Any Religious Book?
Why Would Any Rational Person Have to Use Any Religious Book?
#STRask
December 8, 2025
Questions about why any rational person would have to use any religious book, whether apologetics would be redundant if there were actually a good, un
Are Demon Possessions and Exorcisms in the New Testament Literal?
Are Demon Possessions and Exorcisms in the New Testament Literal?
#STRask
December 11, 2025
Questions about whether references to demon possessions and exorcisms in the New Testament are literal, how to talk to young children about ghosts, an
Does God Really Need a “Pound of Flesh” to Forgive Sins?
Does God Really Need a “Pound of Flesh” to Forgive Sins?
#STRask
January 12, 2026
Questions about how to answer the challenge that God doesn’t need a “pound of flesh” to forgive sins but can simply forgive, and whether the claim in
Why Should We Pray If God Already Knows What’s Going to Happen?
Why Should We Pray If God Already Knows What’s Going to Happen?
#STRask
January 29, 2026
Questions about why we should pray if God already knows what’s going to happen, how the effectiveness of prayer is measured, and whether or not things
Conservatism and Religious Freedom with John Wilsey
Conservatism and Religious Freedom with John Wilsey
Life and Books and Everything
October 27, 2025
What is conservatism? And why does it go hand in hand with religious freedom? How should we think about the American experiment of ordered liberty? Ha
How Do I Reconcile the Image of God as Judge with His Love, Grace, and Kindness?
How Do I Reconcile the Image of God as Judge with His Love, Grace, and Kindness?
#STRask
October 20, 2025
Questions about how to reconcile the image of God as a judge with his love, grace, and kindness, why our sins are considered to be sins against God, a
What Is Wrong with Wokeness? With Neil Shenvi
What Is Wrong with Wokeness? With Neil Shenvi
Life and Books and Everything
January 19, 2026
In this timely interview, Kevin talks to Neil Shenvi about his new book (co-authored with Pat Sawyer), entitled “Post Woke: Asserting a Biblical Visio
Keri Ingraham: School Choice and Education Reform
Keri Ingraham: School Choice and Education Reform
Knight & Rose Show
January 24, 2026
Wintery Knight and guest host Bonnie welcome Dr. Keri Ingraham to discuss school choice and education reform. They discuss the public school monopoly'
The Golden Thread of the Western Tradition with Allen Guelzo
The Golden Thread of the Western Tradition with Allen Guelzo
Life and Books and Everything
October 6, 2025
Dr. Guelzo is back once again for another record setting appearance on LBE. Although he just moved across the country, Allen still made time to talk t
Are You Accursed If You Tithe?
Are You Accursed If You Tithe?
#STRask
December 15, 2025
Questions about whether anyone who tithes is not a Christian and is accursed since Paul says that if you obey one part of the Mosaic Law you’re obliga
Prove to Me That Jesus Is Not a Created Being
Prove to Me That Jesus Is Not a Created Being
#STRask
January 26, 2026
Questions about why we should think Jesus is not a created being, and what it means to say God became fully human if part of being human means not bei
E. Calvin Beisner: Climate and Energy Policy
E. Calvin Beisner: Climate and Energy Policy
Knight & Rose Show
January 4, 2026
Wintery Knight and Desert Rose welcome Dr. E. Calvin Beisner to discuss climate and energy policy. They explore Biblical dominion and stewardship, con
Life and Ministry in Charlotte and in the SBC with Clint Pressley
Life and Ministry in Charlotte and in the SBC with Clint Pressley
Life and Books and Everything
December 15, 2025
In a rare cultural anomaly that may never be repeated in our lifetimes, the current SBC President and current PCA Moderator live in the same neighborh
Can You Provide Verifiable, Non-Religious Evidence That a Supernatural Jesus Existed?
Can You Provide Verifiable, Non-Religious Evidence That a Supernatural Jesus Existed?
#STRask
November 10, 2025
Question about providing verifiable, non-religious evidence that a supernatural Jesus existed.   * I am an atheist and militantly anti-god-belief. Ho