Dr. James Tour interviews author and social critic Os Guinness about his book, American Agonistes –America’s 250th and the Restoration of a Nation in Conflict with Itself and Its Past (agonistes – a person engaged in a struggle).

Tour and Guinness explore the Jewish and biblical roots of American freedom, covenantal self-government, and the gospel as the true foundation of liberty. They contrast biblical freedom with secular ideologies, warn about America’s current polarization and dependence on the state, and call for repentance, renewal, and a return to Scripture as the nation nears its 250th anniversary.

The gospel transforms lives. Release from the burden of sin is liberating.

These two men do a great job of explaining how the Gospel is the answer to the world’s problems. If we return to the Lord, He will return to us and liberate us. When you get right down to it, the only thing that really matters is Jesus: “Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” John 17:3

A mid-December weekend punctuated with mass shootings reminds us that a world plagued by sin is a world plunged in darkness. Worldly solutions focus on human action and therefore offer no hope for eradicating the evil afflicting the world. Yet this Advent season reminds Christians that true hope is found in Jesus, the one who is light, who came to earth on a divine rescue mission, whose birth first established the meaning and the significance of Christmas.