All posts by Dr. Charlie Self

Navigating the Rapids: Questions for Intercession and Conversation

February 13th, 2026 |

As I compose this essay, polarizing cultural and political leaders continue their venomous attacks against their opponents. Labels of “Nazi” have become a comma in discourse and vulgarity is now a sign of transparency. Invading church services is now heralded as civil rights agitation and any critique of radical Islam is suppressed as a phobia. 

Antisemitism continues metastasizing, with deceptive voices claiming only opposition to Zionism while not hating Jews. European nations are divided between nationalists with closed borders and globalists in a freefall capitulation to external powers or Islamicists. Crowds are chanting against the USA and ignoring the real injustices in Iran as thousands rise up against a truly evil regime. 

I have paused my commentaries for several months so that when I write, it is not one more reactive piece only exacerbating the divisions. In addition to all these external issues, we find people of faith divided over their responses to events, with some MAGA activists wrapping the Cross in a flag and those infused with hatred toward President Trump refusing support for any administration policies. 

As a Christian devoted to Christ’s kingdom and wise participation in society, I offer the following thoughts as a stimulus for reflection and civil conversation. Even in my most passionate moments, I will not:

  • Label or libel individuals and deny the humanity of any person.
  • Categorize all who disagree with me as “the enemy.” 
  • Stop believing that there is hope when people of conscience work together. 

As a public intellectual, I will:

  • Affirm that truth can be discovered and narratives can change.
  • Affirm that there are first principles of ethics and morality essential for a free and virtuous society. 
  • Seek principled consensus and live peaceably with people who see the universe differently. 

In the spirit of Jesus of Nazareth and Socrates, Here are some questions for conversation and prayer.

Question One: What does a secure border and reasonable immigration reform look like, so America is hospitable and wise?

Most Americans want border security, deportation of serious criminals, and pathways for citizenship and legal work status for people ready to contribute to our country. They are happy with some current policies and prefer surgical arrests to sweeping actions. The problem is that the paid-for-protestors and radicals on the Left want open borders and less rule of law. The Mayor of Boston recently said that everyone has a right to come to the US and have a job. On the Right, finding moderation is hard when any adjustments are seen as compromise. Some want a fortress with no hospitality. The key here? Congress finding courage and working for real immigration reform. 

Question Two: How can detractors and supporters of President Trump find a way to discuss issues rather than react to a personality?  

President Trump’s arrogance and self-promotion undermine what might be prudent domestic and foreign policies. If he will stop insulting and litigating against opponents and focus on cultivating consensual action, more peaceful progress is possible. At the same time the haters of Trump do not understand his deal-making proclivities. Greenland was never going to be an American state or territory. Several truces around the world are positive steps away from violence; however, there is much more work needed securing enduring peace. 

Question Three: Is there a real pathway to peace in the Middle East?

Israel is not a Western “settler-colony” imposing her will on a peaceful Palestine. The Jihadists opposing Israel want her absolute destruction and the end of all Jewish presence in the world. Some historical facts:

  • The international community has affirmed the need for a Jewish national home in her ancient land from the end of WWI. The convulsions following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to the rise of Arab nationalist and jihadist movements, all of whom opposed any Jewish presence. 
  • The Holocaust killed over six million Jews. In response, leaders and nations rallied around a modest homeland for the Jews in the Holy Land. The UN partitioned Palestinian territory in 1947, designation areas for Jewish settlement and the Palestinian state of Trans Jordan. No Arab nation would affirm the right of these survivors to a state in their ancient home. War ensued in 1948, with the armies of six nations arrayed against a small force. JORDAN invaded the West Bank and secured all of Jerusalem, in violation of UN mandates. A truce (NOT a treaty) came in 1949. Israel’s quick victory in 1967 secured her existence and began decades of peace talks. The Camp David Accords of 1978 saw Egypt secure the Sinai and make peace. Jordan stopped her overt hostility and a framework for the future was established.
  • From the 1970s to the mid-2010s, Israel has offered a joint capital in Jerusalem and over 90% of her reclaimed territory in the Judea and Samaria for peace. She left Gaza in 2005, only to see Hamas take a beautiful region and turn into a terrorist state. Finally, Israel is the only working (and contentious) democracy in the region, with over two million Arab citizens and equal rights for all minorities and religious communities. 

Question Four: Is there a way forward for a liberated Iran?

The great Persian people deserve a democratic society. With freedom of conscience/religion, equal rights for all, and opportunities for economic and social flourishing. The current totalitarian regime is violently suppressing dissent. The US is supportive of regime change from within and offering strong military presence that can be targeted toward regime leaders and military targets. This is an opportunity for people of conscience in both American parties to unite. The barrier is that some of the people and parties that oppose President Trump are stuck in their red-green alliance and refuse to support change because it is neither Islamist nor Marxist. Some are silent because they cannot support any administrative initiative. On the right, Fortress America opponents of any intervention rail against engagement. The way forward is steady support for dissidents, further sanctions, and a refusal to accept the apocalyptic regime as it is. 

The above are just a few of the contentious issues. The world is complicated. Friends, let’s reflect before we react, pray for those that oppose us the most, and offer workable solutions creating pathways for all to flourish. In my next essay, I will offer questions/thoughts on human identity, public ethics, and economic wisdom. We can build a better future once we stop shouting and start listening. 

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Letter from Exile #6: Public Prayers for Changing Hearts and Building Hope

October 14th, 2025 |

As a public intellectual, it is difficult not diving into raging waters that mark our social media. I am deeply disturbed by the venomous language and vicious attacks on people that do not agree with one perspective. I have made a vow not to label or libel, rejecting personal attacks in favor of reasoned argument. Friends, this is really hard when vilification and ad hominem attacks are the new normal for so many. When some public figures open their mouths or post, I have visceral reactions. But the world is not a better place when I just share my initial gut feelings (apart from obvious joyful moments or tragedies). Taking time for processing and offering thoughtful responses is how we build a more civil society.

Our charged sociopolitical arena deserves better. Here are two recent prayers that are helping myself and others. These include the ancient practice of examen, where we honestly assess our own hearts.

Come Holy Spirit.

Examine the depths of our hearts and minds.

Remove all conscious and unconscious affections that are contrary to Christ. Excise hatreds, prejudices, and ideological captivity. Fill us with holy love, empowering courage as we stand for truth and prayerfulness as we bless those most opposed to us. We offer our words and works as worship today. Amen.

And again:

Holy and loving Lord, Your Word calls us to hear with a heart ready to obey. Help me hear your inner voice more clearly and receive truth through wise sisters and brothers. Help me clean out the wax of my selfish inclinations. Help me listen well and reflect with humility. Help me filter out the noise of anger and reaction and hear your call to righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In spiritual warfare, evil forces have no weapon against humility. Accusations are fended off as we trust our Advocate Jesus’ grace and walk in a spirit of continual repentance and hope.

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Letter from Exile #5: Public Prayers in a Time of Tumult

September 30th, 2025 |

The shockwaves of the assassination of Charlie Kirk continue reverberating across the USA and around the world. I deeply lament this violence and pray for his grieving widow and her children. I am waiting for some time to pass before I place Charlie and his work in historical perspective. I am mourning persecution of nearly 400 million Christian around the world. I am praying for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine. I am lamenting and calling out antisemitism. At the same time, I am hopeful, because there are signs of genuine spiritual awakening – especially among young adults – that antedate these recent events and point to a positive longing for love and truth in Christ. I am rejoicing in the thousands of local churches and millions of Christians doing good every day.

In this brief essay, I want to share some recent public prayers that I hope will inspire reflection and repentance, hope and holy love. Here are the first ones, beginning with a traditional cry for mercy:
Kyrie Eleison. Lord, have mercy.Christ, have mercy.
Come Holy Spirit and bring comfort to the grieving.
Almighty God, when we have no words, you receive our inarticulate groans and sighs. Here us now, O Lord.
Amen.

Another cri de couer:
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
We pray for all the hurting, seen and unseen.
We pray for the ones that anger us the most.
Have mercy and draw us all to the Cross, where divine love and justice perfectly unite. Thank you for recording our tears on your scroll. In our lament, we find hope in your mercy. Amen.

A call for contemplation and activism:

Lord God,
Help my history teach me humility and my hope remove all shame. May I remember your mighty deeds and leave behind all you have forgiven. May your divine design in creation and new creation join with your glorious destiny and empower a life of holy love and fruitful service. Receive my prayers and bless the works of my imperfect hands. In Jesus Name, Amen.

For reflection: As we pray, may we begin with our own hearts, welcoming transformation of our affections and motives, and liberation from hidden fears and prejudices. When we first weep and pray for those that anger us the most, we are building a foundation for positive impact that will live beyond us.

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Letters from Exile #4: Being Human, Part 3: Liberation from Ideological Captivity

August 30th, 2025 |

As we aim for peaceable discussion and principled consensus concerning human flourishing in a pluralistic society, awareness of ideological influences is important for clarity and conversation. So much public discourse is talking around or over one another, instead of thoughtful engagement of issues.

Building a thriving society includes understanding our neighbors. This includes humbly learning about other cultures and ethnicities, philosophical and religious worldviews, and discovering principles we have in common. We must desire for all others the liberties of conscience we want for ourselves. While we live with the differences, we can also forge alliances leading to better neighborhoods and nations.

For social cohesion, we must find some common ground on being human and the ingredients that build a prosperous future. The quest is being undermined by ideological extremism that rejects any consensus outside of its own domination.

In this essay, I am presenting three extremist forces fighting for control and offering three foundations for all people of conscience as we aim for freedom and virtue informing our social cohesion.

Extremist ideology #1: Jihadist Islam. While the vast majority of Muslims are peaceable neighbors in many nations, a significant minority desire a restoration of the Umma, the global Islamic empire that will eventually cover the earth and “liberate” humankind. For some Muslim strategists, this is a long game of a century or more of proselytizing, gradual influence, infiltration of social and political sectors, and eventual Sharia in every nation in which they live. For others, the aims are more immediate with violence accelerating local and global control. Such radicals come in both Sunni and Shi’ite traditions and truly believe that anything short of absolute submission to Islam is unacceptable. Male and female roles are fixed, and an oppressive paternalism is the norm here. Women are definitely second-class and under the rule of the men. Conversion to another religion or any departure from Islamic strictures are met with social ostracism or violence.

A note: there are Muslim leaders advocating for democratic and pluralist societies, with Islam as a partner with other religions. These irenic leaders are helpful and important but find themselves marginalized by the militants. We should expect several inner conflicts as millions of Muslims – especially women – have tasted the freedoms of other societies and do not want reversion to the 15th century.

Extremist ideology #2: Global, Technocratic Communism and Fascism. The collectivist impulse keeps returning, in spite of the historical devastations of the past century. The World Economic Forum, several groups in the European Union, the Chinese Communist Party, and many elites in other nations really believe that a select group of wise experts should be in charge and that the world will be better with less private property, religious belief, and economic freedom. Both communism and fascism have similar roots of control, with fascist ideology more focused on blood and soil while purer Marxism is class-oriented and less intolerant of ethnic diversity. The COVID-19 moment was a rehearsal for how much freedom people would relinquish for security. One other attribute of this ethos: a contempt for and desire to destroy the nuclear and extended family. The collective must control more than the biological or adoptive parents. Nothing is more destructive of the well-being of a person that this mentality.

A note here: There is much room for debate among people of conscience concerning governmental toles in people’s lives. Leaning toward slightly more or less local, regional or national governmental engagement does not make one a communist or fascist.

Extremist Ideology #3: Hyper-Individualism (hedonism and libertarianism). Here the focus is completely on the individual and the pursuit of personal fulfillment. Autonomy is the prime value and minimalism in personal and social morality rule here. While affirming the dignity and liberty of each person, the worldviews within this ideology fail to account for the deep human need for community and for love that unselfishly serves others. “No man [or woman] is an island” remains as trenchant an observation as it was when John Donne first wrote it in the 16th century. Without reference to God or a higher good, such individualism pursues pleasure and power without the restraints of humility and service. Subjectivism and post-truth epistemology offer little hope for civil consensus.

All of these ideologies are antithetical to freedom and flourishing and a different way of principled liberty must be offered. In the three principles presented below, I offer a starting pathway for progress out of the confusion and polarization.

Principle #1: Freedom of conscience and religion is the first freedom, and theocratic coercion will not produce a creative and cohesive society. As a devout Christian, I do want everyone to come to faith in Christ. But such decisions are voluntary, and until the end of this age I will affirm for all others the same freedom of religion I desire for myself.

Principle #2: Totalitarian ideologies bear terrible fruit, with hundreds of millions killed and oppressed in the past century. We do need government, but it must serve the people and not compel an allegiance that belongs to the Almighty and ones’ conscience. Whether called the extreme Left or extreme Right, Marxism and its branches must be roundly rejected.

Principle #3: In answer to the hedonism of our today, we must affirm that we are hard-wired for altruism and personal fulfillment, for pleasure in the transcendent and the mundane. Part of being healthy is a web of supportive relationships, beginning with the immediate family and then extending to our religious and/or local communities.

As I complete these first essays on being human, I pray that we can recover and renew a vision that sees the divine image in each person, while also accounting for our depravity and need of redemption. I pray that families will nourish children well, preparing women and men that use their gifts and vocations for the common good.  And I pray that we are liberated from the pseudo-utopias promised by religious and secular totalitarians and the fantasies of hedonism that enslave our souls. Freedom rooted in virtue and unleashing the full potential of each person in the beauty of healthy community are reachable aspirations worth our energy and focus.

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Letter from Exile #3: Being Human, Part 2

August 22nd, 2025 |

Thank you for your desire for thoughtful reflection. My aim is the renewal of civil and insightful conversation in the public square. My life has been shaped by positive examples of women and men fiercely debating important issues without personal insults. I have been influenced as well by historical analysis of three centuries of political, religious, and social diversity within a framework of mutual respect. As mentioned in my first letter, America’s founding affirmations of freedom of religion and redress, assembly and speech are a positive historical influence.

The polarization of the public square has intensified in the past quarter century, not only among political activists, but in matters of moral, religious, and social concern. While a silent percentage of any society simply wakes up each day aiming for a better life for their families, the chattering classes take the air out the room with competing ideologies and narratives that celebrate activism and subjectivity, not the relentless pursuit of truth. Among much of the Western elites, we see a “post-Truth” ethos that eschews objectivity and promotes particular visions of what is best for humankind.

These currents are especially present when we look at being human and male and female identity. In Letter #2, some foundations for identity and purpose were presented. These are offered as starting foci for dignity and mutual respect, not theocratic coercion. Seeing each person as a divine image-bearer and of equal worth is essential for a free society. Honoring biological distinctions while not imposing oppressive limitations and stereotypes is also important for peacefulness in a pluralistic society.

There are three points of contention concerning identity that matter for human flourishing. Drawing on both ancient wisdom and modern empirical data, we can offer clarity in the confusion and reflection over reaction.

Principle 1: Our humanness can unite men and women, who share more in common that we realize. Men and women have diverse personalities and temperaments, skill sets and passions, gifts and competencies that make our world better when used well. While biological differences are real and influence fields of work, shared affections and interests can help friendship and mutual respect flourish. Young women that love mathematics and science do not need to be redirected to other humanities. Young men of sensitive temperaments do not need to be coerced into machismo molds.

Principle #2: Men and women are different, and sexual identity is fixed at birth. The small percentage of biological intersex anomalies do not change this overall rule. Persons who struggle with real body dysphoria deserve love, respect, and excellent psychological care so they become comfortable in their designed identity. If someone has believed the deceptive social contagion of gender fluidity and has engaged in chemical or surgical alteration of their bodies, they need counsel and compassion.

Principle #3: Gender “constructs” have become a mask for harmful self-invention and anarchistic confusion of empirical reality. Biological sex is a given. Social roles for male and female vary with cultures and deserve evaluation. Gender radicals argue for a distinction between the “sex assigned at birth” and chosen gender identity. While civic freedom allows for people to believe all kinds of things, it does not demand that thoughtful people agree with defiance of biological reality. If a biological male chooses to say he is female (a “trans woman”), he can do so but should not expect that all will agree. No amount of chemistry, surgery, or role adjustment change biological reality. The few studies exploring brain activity in trans people do not account for the commonalities of male and female or the fact that brains are altered by behaviors.

Until 10-15 years ago, biological sex was assumed, while sexual attractions varied, with a small percentage of women and men being same or both-sex attracted. Gender studies were focused on liberating all people toward a just and tolerant future. After gay marriage was enshrined in US law in 2015, gender activism metastasized and suddenly we have scores of identities and defining male and female is considered oppressive. In our next essay, we will look at the ideological roots of this anarchy.

What does this mean for positive public discourse and a civil society?  Two thoughts are helpful here. First, there is no place for bullying or personal denigration of any person. This does not mean that we simply accept any affirmation of identity or allow children to receive treatments in defiance of parents. Toleration is living with our differences, not being coerced into celebrating a view contrary to one’s deepest beliefs. Second, “follow the science” must be liberated from its ideological straitjackets. Real empirical research in relentless pursuit of the truth deserves celebration.

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