Steven Willing, MD, Author at Christian Medical & Dental Associations® (CMDA)

New Research Exposed Anti-Christian Bias in Residency Admissions

Progressive and left-wing bias in American centers of higher education is a fact so universally recognized it is barely worth mentioning. “A worrying new study suggests that young doctors with known conservative inclinations would fare worse in residency placement.”

The Anxious Generation

Are skyrocketing rates of mental illness among the young caused by smartphones? A growing chorus of mental health professionals and research psychologists say “absolutely yes.” What does the evidence show, what can we do about it and why are religious conservatives largely being spared?

8 Principles of Sound Christian Thinking

Beliefs have consequences. All other things being equal, false beliefs have worse consequences. Pick any issue on which people are divided. COVID treatments? Sexuality? Evolution? It doesn’t matter what.

Does Acceptance of “Deep Time” or Evolution Imperil Christian Belief?

Does acceptance of evolution or geological time imperil Christian belief? The evidence says no. But guess what does?

1946: The Mistranslation that Had Absolutely No Effect on Anything

This December marks the official theatrical release of 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture. According to Tim Malloy of MovieMaker magazine, “This film may change your mind about homosexuality and the Bible—if you watch it.”[1] Will it? Should it?

Pride Kills

Pride deceives us in many ways. One of the more dangerous expressions is to overestimate our competence and skill. In high-risk situations, the consequences can be disastrous. Too often, greed is offered as a simplistic explanation. The truth runs much deeper.

Victims of the Sexual Revolution, Part 2: The Decline of Happiness, and the Plight of the Young Liberal Woman

Increasing levels of depression and other mental illnesses in Western societies have been well-described, but there are many theories as to why. In this installment, we argue that the decline of marriage is the most critical yet overlooked factor, and why the young liberal woman suffers the most.

The Psychology of Wokeness

Courtesy: Quillette, 2018

The cultural phenomenon known as “wokeness” is grounded in human pride, and it is expressed through moral absolutism, moral grandstanding and the will to control.

Top Ten Myths of the Sexual Revolution: Part 5

In the final installment of the series, we critique the argument that deviations from normative heterosexuality are a part of God’s design and hence morally neutral.

Top Ten Myths of the Sexual Revolution: Part 4

Continuing our series on the Top Ten Myths of the Sexual Revolution, we now come to the contentious issue of homosexuality, or, if you prefer, same-sex attraction. This is a highly sensitive subject, and for better or worse, LGBTQ issues have consumed most of the “oxygen” over the last 30 years.

Top Ten Myths of the Sexual Revolution: Part 3

In the third installment of this series, we examine the connection between the sexual revolution and the formation of sexual predators, the social harm of pornography and why children are its biggest victims.

The Star of Bethlehem: A Mystery of the Ages

One of the most beloved Christmas symbols, the Star of Bethlehem has historic connections appreciated by few. This is a review and comparison of the newest theories.

Top Ten Myths of the Sexual Revolution: Part 2

In this installment, we consider myths concerning marriage, sexual “repression” and the impact of the sexual revolution for women.

Top Ten Myths of the Sexual Revolution: Part 1

All battles over human sexuality spanning the last 50 years in the Western world can reasonably be parked under the umbrella of the sexual revolution. Its foundational principles are assumed dogma throughout the educational and entertainment establishment, serve as battle cries for politicians and activists and have infiltrated much of the professing Christian community. However, the sexual revolution has been an unmitigated disaster for individuals and society, and it is built upon a foundation of lies.

Psychopaths in the Workplace

Over the years, countless healthcare professionals have shared touching stories of mentors who encouraged and inspired them at early stages of their training. Such accounts motivate us to “pay it forward” and serve in that role for the next generation.

In the first year of COVID, STDs still somehow increased across the U.S. What’s behind it?

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) continue to rise. However, according to last week’s press release from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it’s apparently got nothing to do with sex.

Intellectual Humility: From Ancient Biblical Proverbs to 21st Century Research

No matter where you stand, it should be evident that a large swath of humanity confidently clings to tenets that are demonstrably untrue. Moreover, these beliefs are not borne exclusively of facts, experience and logic but a deadly array of confounding factors. The vast complexity of most subjects, misinformation, disinformation and information overload preclude anyone from total mastery of an issue. The solution is biblical, and it’s called intellectual humility.

Not By Might, Nor By Power

How do we, as followers of Christ, engage the secular world?

This is no simple question, as the situations and circumstances are nearly infinite in possibility.

Since St. Augustine penned The City of God, there has been a general understanding that Jesus did not come to establish an earthly dominion. One might argue there have been “Christian nations” in a particular sense, but through most of Western history, church and state have always been separate power bases in an uneasy tension. Sometimes the church was on the ascendancy, as when Pope Gregory VII excommunicated emperor Henry IV (1050-1106) over the investiture controversy. You may have heard the story about how Henry stood three days barefoot in the snow to beg forgiveness. This feeds the popular myth of an all-powerful Catholic church embraced by many secularists. Less well known is that three years later, after his second excommunication, Henry IV led his armies against Rome, forcibly deposing Gregory VII and putting his own man in charge. So much for the “all-powerful” church. Power is fleeting, even for emperors and popes.

Sacrificing Science on the Altar of Transgenderism: How a Respected Scientific Source Betrayed its Core Values

As far back as data exists, the universal experience has been that transgenderism was an extraordinarily rare occurrence, especially among females.
The last decade, however, witnessed an unprecedented increase in the numbers of young people identifying as transgender and seeking to transition. The surge was particularly striking among young adolescent females who were heavy users of social media but had no prior history of gender dysphoria. Something seemed amiss.

Responsibility and Freedom in the Time of COVID

In a weekly column on Sunday, August 29, Evangelical attorney David French declared “It’s Time to Stop Rationalizing and Enabling Evangelical Vaccine Rejection.”

Is that really a thing, you may ask?

There certainly is some evidence for that. Among those who have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, white Evangelicals trail the national average by 10 percent. A significant difference, but not a dramatic difference. In fact, the majority are vaccinated, according to this tweet displayed in the article.

Knowing the Will of God

How do you ascertain God’s will for your life?

This is one of the greatest existential questions asked by followers of Christ, the young in particular. It is also one of the most profoundly misunderstood.

We may be taught that there is a divine roadmap for our lives, known to God yet unknown to us. We desire to know it for two reasons. First, we seek to please God and be good stewards. Second, we believe following his divine plan will maximize our earthly joy and blessing, but He offers no objective way of knowing it. What then, does that say about God? He created a divine master plan for us to follow, but we have to pry it out of Him? What sort of God would do that, and why? What if we make the wrong decision?

The Return of the God Hypothesis

In last Saturday’s New York Times, Christian columnist Ross Douthat asks, “Can the Meritocracy Find God?”

“The secularization of America probably won’t reverse unless the intelligentsia gets religion,” writes Douthat. Nor is he sanguine for the prospects of that occurring. Douthat postulates two primary obstacles. First, “a moral vision that regards emancipated, self-directed choice as essential to human freedom and the good life.” Second, an entrenched anti-supernaturalism: “The average Ivy League professor, management consultant or Google engineer is not necessarily a strict materialist, but they have all been trained in a kind of scientism, which regards strong religious belief as fundamentally anti-rational, miracles as superstition, the idea of a personal God as so much wishful thinking.”

Christians and Conspiracy Theories

“You can’t handle the truth!”

That classic line from A Few Good Men from Colonel Jessup in the witness stand became a waving flag for many. It is enticing to think we own the truth, and that those who can’t “handle” it are naïve, weak or cowardly. Delivered to perfection by Jack Nicholson, Jessup hammered a wedge between truth and fantasy, and of course we all know which side we’re on, don’t we?