Kerby Anderson
Is Christianity as bad as atheists say that it is? For decades we have heard the charges from the so-called New Atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. But those ideas are starting to surface in other discussions. As one of my radio guests noted, non-Christians used to ask if Christianity is true, but now many ask whether Christianity is good.
Secular professors often will talk about Christianity in a negative way, focusing only on the Crusades, the Inquisition, or the Salem Witch Trials. But we never seem to hear about any of the positive contributions of Christianity. Fortunately, Jerry Newcombe has provided such lists in his books and commentaries.
For example, if you are educated, you should probably thank Christianity. “Education for the masses was a gift of Christianity to the world,” he explains. Education in America was established so that citizens could read the Bible for themselves and not be deluded. Nearly all the colleges in America’s early history were founded on Christian principles.
If you have ever been in a hospital, you should also thank Christianity. “St. Basil of Caesarea, who lived in the fourth century, is credited with creating the first hospital in the history of the world.” And let’s not forget the advances in science. As Norm Geisler and I explain in our book on Origin Science, most of the pioneers in the field of science had a Christian worldview, and others were theists who believed in God.
Most of the social movements in the 19th and 20th centuries sprung from Christian convictions. The abolition movement, child labor law movement, suffrage movement, and the civil rights movement are just a few examples.
Christianity shouldn’t be blamed for what is bad in the world. We should be grateful for the many blessings it provides each of us.

Kerby Anderson
Is crime on the rise? Most Americans think so. A Gallup survey last year found that nearly all (92%) Republicans and a majority (58%) of Democrats thought crime was increasing. A recent Rasmussen survey found most (61%) likely voters say violent crime in the US is getting worse.
But the media cites statistics arguing that crime is decreasing. That is why John Lott took the time to investigate the difference in perception about crime statistics. He concludes that Americans aren’t mistaken.
This country has two measures of crime. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting programs count the number of crimes reported to the police each year. The Bureau of Justice Statistics produces a National Crime Victimization Survey and asks Americans whether they have been victims of a crime. The two measures differ significantly.
One reason for the divergence is due to the fact that many police departments (especially in cities like New York and Los Angeles) don’t report crime data to the FBI. But there is another reason for the difference: many Americans are less likely to report a crime.
Arrest rates are plummeting. Why report a crime to the police if you don’t believe the criminal will be caught and punished? Arrest rates for property crimes, for example, have dropped sharply. FBI data for 2022 shows that only 12 percent of reported property crimes in all cities resulted in an arrest. In cities of more than one million people, that percentage drops to 4.5 percent. Arrest rates for violent crime also dropped significantly. And for cities with more than a million people, only 8.4 percent of violent crimes resulted in an arrest.
Crime is not decreasing. Only the reporting of crime is decreasing.