The World and Everything in It: April 8, 2025

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

What’s next in South Korea following the ouster of the president? We’ll talk with a foreign policy expert.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also today: One of the world’s poorest countries is now facing a major natural disaster. We have a report.

And in Ukraine, more than 300 children wait to join their adoptive parents in America.

CIRLOT: They are so desperate for human connection that just to see a mother pick up the phone and look at them before they giggle and hang up is enough.

And WORLD Opinions commentator Daniel Darling says it’s a great day when your opponents see things your way.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, April 8th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: SCOTUS deportation ruling » The U.S. The Supreme Court just handed President Trump a pair of legal victories.

In one of those decisions, the high court said the president can temporarily use the rarely invoked Alien Enemies Act to deport violent illegal immigrants, such as gang members.

White House adviser Steven Miller:

MILLER:  This is a monumental, colossal victory for the rule of law, for the Constitution, for our founding generation, John Adams, who signed this law into effect in 1798, and for President Trump in fulfilling his mandate and campaign pledge.

But the high court also said that if the administration is going to remove people under the act, they have to give them notice with a reasonable amount of time to challenge before they are removed.

The court's three liberal justices dissented along with Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Separately, the high court temporarily halted a lower court's decision, ordering the Trump administration to bring a deported Salvadorian migrant back to the United States. The stay will remain in effect while the court considers the case further.

SCOTUS executive spending ruling » The high court on Monday also allowed the Trump administration to proceed for now with cutting hundreds of millions from teacher training tied to so-called diversity equity and inclusion.

BENJAMIN EICHER: In a 5-4 ruling, the justices granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to cut $600 million dollars in DEI-related teacher training grants.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberal justices in dissent.

The cuts had been temporarily blocked by a federal judge in Boston.

The appeal is one of several cases in which the Justice Department argues lower-court judges have overstepped their authority.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Netanyahu at WH / Israel latest » President Trump says the United States will engage in direct nuclear talks with Iran this weekend.

TRUMP: Maybe a deal is gonna be made. That would be great. It would be really great for Iran, I can tell you that we're meeting very importantly on Saturday at almost the highest level.

Trump's comments came during a White House visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu was there to discuss a number of issues including Trump's tariffs, the Hamas hostages, Syria, and the fate of Gaza.

The prime minister once again praised Trump’s proposal back in February for the United States to seize control of the Gaza Strip. That plan would also involve other countries taking in the Palestinians currently living there who want to leave.

NETANYAHU: This is the right thing to do. It's gonna take years to rebuild Gaza. In the meantime, people can have an option. The president has a vision. Countries are responding to that vision. We're working on it. I hope we can have good news for you.

With regard to tariffs, the prime minister promised to work hard to improve Israel's trade relationship with the United States.

Last week, Trump announced a 17 percent tariffs on all Israeli imports to the U.S.

Trade talks » Netanyahu, one of many World leaders lining up to talk with the president about newly imposed U.S. tariffs.  Trump is personally involved in trade negotiations, but he’s showing no signs of backing down on those tariffs.

Trade advisor to the president, Peter Navarro:

NAVARRO:  They're coming now and saying, we want to talk. We'll lower our tariffs to zero. If you'll lower your tariffs, that's not the problem. Vietnam is a great example. They sell us $15 for every one we sell them. Zero tariffs would get us no reduction in the $123 billion deficit we have.

Closing trade deficits is one of President Trump’s main objectives.

Some Republicans are feeling uneasy about the tariffs. The president’s message to them: Be strong, courageous, and patient and greatness will be the result.

Democrats insist the president is steering the country into a preventable recession.

China tariffs »  Trump is talking trade with dozens of trading partners, but China isn’t one of them, at least not right now.

The president says the U.S will impose an additional 50% tariff on Chinese goods starting tomorrow. That is, if Beijing does not withdraw a 34% tariff increase on US goods before then.

TRUMP:   I have a great relationship with presidency. I hope it's gonna stay that way. I have great respect for China, but they can't do this.

He says Beijing has been gaming the system for many years, and the new tariffs are merely helping to level the playing field.

And Republican Sen. Tom Cotton adds:

COTTON:  China has waged an economic world war, especially against the United States going back several decades. They've subsidized their own companies. They give them all kinds of concessions on taxes and land and regulation. Oftentimes, they own these companies, something no American company can compete with fairly.

The president says all trade talks with China will be terminated unless Beijing reverses course.

Weather / flooding » Rivers rose and flooding worsened across the U.S. South and Midwest Monday, threatening communities already waterlogged and badly damaged by days of severe weather.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear:

BESHEAR:  Days of severe storms have brought devastation to so many communities across our commonwealth. We've had search and rescue teams working around the clock to support these communities.

Heavy rain and storms have killed at least 23 people.

Forecasters warned that flooding could persist for days, especially in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: South Korea’s high court removes its president for unlawfully declaring martial law last year. Plus, a family doing what it can to provide a home for Ukrainian orphans.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 8th of April.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Up first: South Korea, following the ouster of the president.

SOUND: (Cheering)

Celebrations erupted in the capital city of Seoul on Friday … as the nation’s top court ousted

President Yoon Suk-Yeol. It’s a dramatic end to a constitutional battle triggered when Yoon declared martial law in December.

REICHARD:  Lawmakers quickly impeached him and now the court has made it final.

Joining us now to talk about it is Will Inboden. He’s a former member of the National Security Council staff, and now teaches at the University of Florida. Will, good morning.

WILL INBODEN, GUEST: Good morning, Mary, great to be with you.

REICHARD: Well, let's start with some background on Yoon Suk-Yeol. Before he became president, he was a lawyer, a government prosecutor who helped to build the case to impeach a previous president of South Korea. How did he get from there to himself becoming president?

INBODEN: Yeah, so I think he had built up some credibility with the voters of South Korea, and obviously was, you know, an accomplished legal professional. And, you know, South Korea is still a relatively young democracy. They only transitioned from a military dictatorship to a democracy in the late 80s. So this is just really kind of the second generation of democratic leadership. And the voters thought that he had a good track record and a compelling vision as president. You know, his predecessor had been more of the left and had taken a softer line towards China and North Korea, their adversary. So there were a lot of hopes, particularly among conservatives, that as president, President Yoon would be a strong and stable hand, but unfortunately that has not turned out to be the case.

REICHARD: Well, Friday's decision to remove Yoon came after he declared martial law in December, and he used the military and the police to try to block the opposition party from taking control of parliament after the opposition won an earlier election. Now, is there more going on in South Korea for Yoon to decide to take the law into his own hands like this?

INBODEN: It was a pretty egregious misstep on his part. I mean, yeah, I think he has some legitimate frustrations with some of the tactics that the left had used, but it primarily just seemed to be his desire for more power, his refusal to accept the elections, which had given a fairly strong majority to the more left -wing party in parliament there. And as I mentioned with South Korea, being a relatively young democracy, and there previously had been a tradition of military rule, but that's exactly why I think people reacted so strongly. It was a pretty, like I said, it was a pretty egregious step and overcompensation on his part to declare martial law, to try to invoke the military as his supporters. That was not the traditional way of resolving political differences in a democracy when they should be done peacefully and through the standard processes. So he unfortunately really discredited himself and his party quite a bit with that move.

REICHARD: Well, now he's been impeached, arrested and removed from office, what does this tell you about the state of democracy in South Korea?

INBODEN: Yeah, I think we're still somewhat in the crucible, but it's notable that their version of the Supreme Court stepped in and validated the impeachment and removal of office. And he has publicly repented and apologized for what he has done, and does seem to be peacefully leaving office. And so they've got a Caretaker acting president right now and they're going to do national elections within the next next two months I think and so I think we can you know, at least as of this juncture say it's a a success story for the institutions of democracy holding, holding strong even when they are really really tested by like I said him him going way outside the bounds and opposing martial law.

REICHARD: Now before we go, let's talk a little bit about North Korea. What has its authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un been doing while attention's been focused south?

INBODEN: Yeah, this is a good reminder, Mary, for our listeners on just why South Korea matters so much is, you know, partly because of that threat from North Korea, but South Korea is a very important formal ally of the United States. They're an important economic partner of the 12th largest economy in the world. And, you know, we have 30,000 American troops stationed there. And, you know, our troops are there both to help deter an attack from North Korea and also to help counter the growing menace menace from China. And so the Korean Peninsula is sometimes called the cockpit of Asia because it's kind of in the fulcrum of, you know, traditional conflicts in the region and the contest over power politics in the entire region. And so North Korea, one of the most vicious repressive communist dictatorships in the world now in its third generation of dictator under the Kim family with Kim Jong Un has been, I think, relishing the political instability in the South. Kim has very much consolidated his power. He's deepened his partnership with China and Russia and Iran. He's sent quite a few troops to Ukraine fighting alongside the Russians as part of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. And he has tightened the repression of his own people. You know, over the last year, they've been a little bit of an opening, a little bit more trade across the North Korean border, but he's really, he's really tightened that up. And he's advancing his nuclear weapons program, including ballistic missiles that can now hit the United States. And so the threat from North Korea is significant towards South Korea and towards the United States. And that's another reason that we as Americans should hope that South Korea is able to get through this political turmoil, restore political stability, and kind of reestablish the the firmness of its ties with the United States.

REICHARD: Well, are there any other stories in Asia that you're watching?

INBODEN: Well, you know, one other thing I think it's still on South Korea that bears our our listeners remembering is there's a very strong church population. There's a very strong Christian population in South Korea. It's got one of the highest percentages of, you know, committed Christians of of any industrialized democracy in the world. They send out lots of missionaries, the church played a very key role, along with the Reagan administration, frankly, in the 1980s in South Korea's transition to democracy. And so just thinking about solidarity with our fellow Christians, we should be also concerned with what is happening in South Korea there, and certainly support their continued commitment to their own democracy.

And then of course, I mentioned earlier, the other big story is China, right? The growing aggression that China is showing towards Taiwan, they're doing a new round of military drills, seems to be practiced towards a possible blockade or invasion of Taiwan. Of course, with President Trump's new round of tariffs, those are causing a lot of instability in the region with financial markets crashing, stock markets crashing, and a growing trade war. And that's certainly making America's allies nervous, especially in Australia in South Korea and in Japan. So there's just a lot of ferment and instability in Asia right now. Yet another reason we want to hope for a restoration of stability in South Korea since we need them.

REICHARD: Will Inboden is a former member of the National Security Council staff and now a professor at the University of Florida. Will, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

INBODEN: Thank you, Mary.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: a major natural disaster.

A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar last week, toppling buildings and trapping thousands beneath the rubble. As of Sunday, more than 3,500 people were confirmed dead, with hundreds still missing.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Myanmar is one of the world’s poorest countries, also caught in civil war while facing the worst natural disaster in years. This comes amid a debate over foreign aid and the best way to deliver it.

Here’s WORLD’s Mary Muncy. 

REPORTER, MARY MUNCY: An aid worker walks through a hospital tent in Myanmar. He shares a video of one woman’s story with WORLD.

She talks about her house falling and her injuries. The earthquake damaged the main hospital in the city, so she sits outside under a makeshift tent, next to rows of other injured people.

The aid worker gives her enough cash to pay for her medical bills and moves on to the next injured person.

DANIEL: The smell of death is, in some areas, is very pungent. And who knows when those buildings will be cleared?

Daniel lives in the US but has been helping run a Christian aid mission in Myanmar since 2007. WORLD is using a pseudonym for him to protect his organization from security threats.

Daniel says the civil war means there’s no infrastructure in place to help people.

DANIEL: They're still uncovering bodies in in the rubble, and there's still thousands of houses that have been collapsed, and there's nothing. There's no equipment there, no teams there, no dog, you know, dogs to sniff out bodies.

In other words, things that the government would normally provide or coordinate. And there are very few people in the country who are in a position to donate to relief efforts.

DANIEL: There's no such thing as insurance like that over there, they don't have government programs like Social Security or Medicare, Medicaid or welfare or anything like that. So if people need help, they get it from their family.

The day after the earthquake hit, the military invited foreign nations to bring in aid, something Daniel didn’t expect. When Cyclone Nargis hit in 2008, it took weeks for the government at the time to ask for international assistance.

DANIEL: They basically said ‘we don't need any help. We can handle it ourselves.’

Daniel and others believe the junta asked for help this time because it’s weaker… and the earthquake hit some of its main military bases.

So far, China, Russia, India, and private aid organizations that were already in the country have started helping people, and more are now pitching in.

Three USAID workers deployed to the area a few days after the earthquake to assess the need, but according to an ex-USAID official, they received layoff notices while in the country.

Even so, the US has committed $2 million dollars through the State Department to aid efforts, though some Congress members say if USAID had not been shrunk, the US would’ve had rescue teams on the ground.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio rebutted those claims last week.

MARCO RUBIO: It’s not the easiest place to work, okay? They have a military junta that doesn’t like us, doesn’t necessarily allow us to operate in that country the way we wanted to. That would have impeded our response no matter what.

Other countries confirmed to have teams on the ground in Myanmar are friendly to the military junta.

Rubio says the US is committed to helping relief efforts around the world, but that the Trump administration is trying to do it more efficiently.

RUBIO: We're not going to fund these global NGOs all over the world that are living off of this. We're not doing it. We are prepared to help them work with governments and appropriate NGOs on the ground that are delivering assistance.

Globally, the US government gives more foreign aid than any country in the world…some of those funds have traditionally flowed through USAID.

RUBIO: There are a lot of other rich countries in the world, they should all be pitching in. We’re going to do our part. We already have people there, we’ll have more people there. We’ll help as much as we can.

In 2023, USAID reported in its yearly report that it spent about 25 percent of its funds on disaster relief. Expenditures totaling about $900 million dollars around the world. It says that money went to things like rapid response teams, food, water, and hygiene. Some worry that without the agency on the ground, those things won’t happen.

But often USAID worked through large non-profits like the Red Cross and Samaritan’s Purse. And so far, it seems those other organizations are filling the gap.

BROCK KREITZBURG: They've done a lot of great work around-around the world.

Brock Kreitzburg is the senior director of Water Mission, which has teams on the ground in Myanmar.

KREITZBURG: We've always shared communication, shared information with with USAID and so you know that piece of coordination and information isn't there, but that is made up by other relationships that we have with organizations.

Kreitzburg says USAID’s absence hasn’t affected them so far, but he’s not sure if that will continue.

Aid director Daniel says back in Myanmar the need may be much greater than what’s being reported. Right now, journalists are not allowed into the country, and Daniel says there’s no accountability.

DANIEL: I mean, they're, they're making a show of, you know, some of the bigger buildings, the bigger high rises and stuff in Mandalay. If you look at what they're doing and not what they're saying, you know, they're putting a lot of effort into finding the any monks that were, you know, covered in the rubble after the earthquake, and they're putting a lot of effort into cleaning and clearing out the temples of the monasteries and the pagodas.

Marte Nilsen with Peace Research Institute Oslo told WORLD in an email that she’s heard the same reports. She says in Theravada Buddhism, there’s a lot of merit in restoring a temple, meaning those people get good karma, and thus power.

The junta and monks are also closely aligned.

DANIEL: Military families, government families, religious families, you know, people that have connections to the more powerful monks. Those are the people that are going to get help. Those are the buildings that are going to get rebuilt.

The warring parties declared a ceasefire, but Nilsen and Daniel say both sides are still been dropping bombs.

Right now, people are sleeping in the street because their homes are unsafe, but as more bodies are retrieved, and people become desperate, many will move to relief camps. Daniel says no one is thinking about rebuilding, at least not right now.

DANIEL: I can imagine five years from now, walking through Mandalay and most of those houses will still be damaged from this earthquake, the ones that haven't fallen down by then.

For now, Daniel and his organization are praying for peace.

DANIEL: He can bring Beauty from Ashes. That's my prayer that the Lord would use this tragedy to bring out some good for the country.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Birthday traditions can be silly or sweet. Or practically prehistoric.

When Pat DeReamer turned 95 last week, she received a birthday card in the mail from her friend Mary Wheaton. Not just any old card—but it was an old card, and the same one they’ve sent back and forth 81 years straight.

Audio from WLKY.

DEREAMER: This is the original card. She puts the arrow where she wants me to sign it because I can’t see where to sign it anymore!

Mary first mailed it to Pat for on her 14th birthday, 1944. On the outside it reads, wishing you a birthday that’s colossal. On the inside. Cause it'll be a long, long time before YOU’RE an old fossil!

Since then, it’s become a living relic of friendship—held together with love, laughter, and Scotch tape when needed.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, April 8th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: International adoption. It can be a lengthy process in the best of times. Add a war to the mix, and things get really complicated.

REICHARD: WORLD Senior Writer Kim Henderson met a family working to adopt a set of siblings from one of the hottest war zones in the world: Ukraine.

SOUND: [Piano scales]

KIM HENDERSON, SENIOR WRITER: The Cirlot Home is full of life. Kids practicing piano. A cockatiel squawking . . .

SOUND: [Sound of bird, goat bleating, dishes taken out of dishwasher, overlapping voices]

. . . even baby goats bleating in the yard.

But Bryan and Anna Cirlot, along with their three biological children, want their place to be even livelier.

ANNA: This is the picture when they interviewed to come to America for hosting. And this is a picture that I actually saw.

Three years ago they came into contact with some orphans from Ukraine . . a set of four siblings in the U.S. through a hosting program. The Cirlots soon got on board with adopting all four of them. But then Anna noticed the family photo taken in an orphanage included six children.

ANNA: So I was like, “Wait, are there six or there four?” And nobody knew the answer at first . . .

The children cleared things up with the help of a translator.

ANNA: We found out, no, it was not six. They were saying seven.

Seven siblings in need of a forever family. But now they were back in Ukraine, more than 5,000 miles away.

Bryan Cirlot is a pastor. He says the idea of adopting seven kids all at once was daunting at first. But he believes God had a special reason for blessing his family with a 14-acre farm.

BRYAN: We've certainly used it to host church events and just to practice hospitality as much as we could. But I think this is just the culmination of that, that we would be hospitable to a whole family of children that could come and be part of our family . . .

In February 2022, the Cirlots hired a lawyer and started the adoption process. Then Russia invaded Ukraine. The Cirlots joined a list of 200 other American families in Ukrainian adoption limbo.

The Cirlots’ biological daughter, Abby, was 14.

ABBY: I remember that pretty vividly, because it also coincided with the birth of a bunch of lambs. I remember mom saying we need to name one of the lambs “hope” in Ukrainian.

The Cirlots found out the Ukrainian children evacuated to refugee orphanages in Poland and Italy. They were desperate to help them. They contacted the U.S. government. The Ukrainian government.

They even visited the children.

ANNA: We had a contract with an agency that was recognized in America, and because we had that, it gave us opportunities to go into these refugee orphanages that we wouldn't normally have.

They brought medicine and food for the orphanage. They brought each of their adoptees stuffed animals and clothes. Pajamas, too . . .

ANNA: Because orphans don't have pajamas. That's a huge deal to them.

It was a time of deepening connections with their yet-to-be -legally -adopted children. The Cirlots already thought of them as their children.

Anna was distraught by the overwhelming needs she saw in the orphanages. She calls the Ukrainian orphan crisis “catastrophic.”

ANNA: There are so many children without homes, with no hope of ever being adopted. They're vulnerable. There are predators out there that are waiting for them online.

The Cirlots were particularly concerned for the oldest child, who goes by the name Daisy now. Her situation was dangerous. They hired a Christian attorney in Ukraine to expedite her adoption through a refugee program. She arrived in the US in November, 2022.

SOUND: [Daisy singing, Brian playing guitar, laughter]

These days, Daisy is thriving.

Meanwhile, it’s been a rollercoaster ride for the Cirlots. Three years of lobbying officials, visiting the children, telling their story.

They’re able to communicate with their Ukrainian children because they left cell phones with them.

ANNA: We have interruptions all day long, because our time zone is different than theirs.

Anna gives an example of what it’s like to parent one of the girls halfway across the globe.

ANNA: She had changed her profile picture to this character that was very inappropriate. And so I reached out to her, and I was like, “Hey, sweetheart, this is not a good picture to post. This isn't appropriate. We need to change it.”

Anna says the girl, her daughter, was angry at first. But in the end, she understood Anna was demonstrating love for her.

And it’s not just the Cirlots’ adoptees that call. Other children in the orphanage do as well.

ANNA: They just are so desperate for human connection that just to see a mother pick up the phone and answer it and look at them before they giggle and hang up is enough. So the Ukrainian orphan crisis is absolutely devastating, and I don't think people realize how bad it is.

AUDIO: Hey, Pax man, I think you have bread ready. [beeping machine] Is it ready?

Life goes on for the Cirlots. This afternoon, their 12-year-old is baking, and slicing, bread.

SOUND: [Sound of electric bread slicer]

He serves it around an 11-foot table Bryan built out of pine.

BRYAN: It's white washed on the surface, just butt-jointed the boards together, glued it, and assembled it in place . . .

Bryan built it at the beginning of their adoption journey. It’s been a long wait to see it filled.

ANNA: We've actually talked about disassembling the table at times, because it's so painful to see the empty chairs every single day over years. I decided it was an act of faith to keep it up, and that it was just showing our hearts' intention before the Lord. And we were just going to trust Him to fill the seats again.

They’re praying for an end to the war, and an end to Ukraine’s suspension of international adoption.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson in Gautier, Mississippi.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, April 8th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom said this about men in women’s sports, speaking with a conservative influencer.

NEWSOM: The issue of fairness is completely legit. So I completely align with you. And I think Democrats have lost that…

The comment made news and took many by surprise.

EICHER: But WORLD Opinions contributor Daniel Darling says it’s not that surprising.

DANIEL DARLING, COMMENTATOR: It appeared to be quite a reversal by a politician who has been a steadfast supporter of LGBTQ issues. California Gov. Gavin Newsom was among the first elected officials to support gay marriage when as mayor of San Francisco he ordered the city clerk to issue licenses to LGBTQ couples in 2004. Eleven years before the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision.

Newsom’s about-face follows other similar comments from leading Democrats. Rahm Emanuel, former mayor of Chicago and White House chief of staff, recently said Democrats need to “talk less about the bathroom and more about the classroom.”

This vibe shift is undoubtedly a response to the results of the 2024 presidential election. Arguably, one of the most successful television ads criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for taxpayer funded transgender surgeries for military personnel. The ad featured the devastating line: “She’s for they/them. He’s for you.”

In a poll conducted in January, The New York Times found that 79% of the American people, including a majority of Democrats, believe biological men should not compete in women’s sports. Figures like Newsom and Emanuel know their party is on the wrong side of popular opinion and thus have shifted their views. Many are blaming the loud activist fringe who pulled the party so far to the left as to cost them elections.

How should Christian conservatives think about these shifts in both popular opinion and among leading figures on the left? It’s proper to have healthy skepticism about progressives’ sudden change of heart. After all, zero Democratic senators recently voted for a Senate bill that would have barred biological males from competing in women’s sports.And in Newsome’s home state of California, the Democratic supermajority turned down the opportunity for a similar ban. So it looks as if the rhetoric, from the left, is still mostly rhetoric.

Yet we can also take heart that a significant majority of Americans are acknowledging reality. What they may call “common sense,” we understand to be God’s law written on the human heart. It is embedded in the creational design of the universe. When courageous athletes such as Riley Gaines began speaking out, it was unpopular. But they helped move the needle forward by igniting a public debate. We should be thankful anytime elected officials are persuaded to give rhetorical support to good policy. Even if they arrive there much later than they should have.

Still, the vibe shift against transgender athletes in women’s sports is not the end of the argument. Unfairness is the most accessible argument to make against the insanity of the transgender movement, but it’s a mere symptom of a much larger social problem. It is the perverse moral architecture of the sexual revolution, which denies creational realities and exalts expressive individualism, that has led to today’s moral anarchy.

This is why Christians should not hesitate to hold fast to and declare God’s design for sexuality and marriage. Not merely to win an argument or be proven right, but out of love for our neighbors. In a sexually confused culture, people are questioning the received wisdom of progressive orthodoxy and looking for guidance on how to order their lives.

Christianity has a high view of human dignity. It promises bodily renewal at the end of the age. It offers something more beautiful about sexuality and marriage than the cheap substitutes on offer in the world. What’s more, Christianity offers not only a cohesive worldview, but a compassionate and redeeming Savior who is making all things—especially the broken things—new.

So we should celebrate even small shifts from those who once called us bigoted for resisting unreality. We must also pray and work for a day when the world rejects the false and harmful ideologies of our age and turns toward God.

I’m Daniel Darling.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: Washington Wednesday, what politicians hearing from their constituents about the trade war.

And a special report on a peace treaty 35 years in the making…between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible records that after the Jews stoned Paul, supposing he was dead, he rose up and preached along with Barnabas: “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” –Verses 22 and 23 of Acts 14.

Go now in grace and peace.

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