Expressive individualism is a term used today to describe the intuitive way that we think about ourselves as human beings.

Dr. Carl Truman talking about his presentation at the 2025 issues, etc., making the case conference.

We think about ourselves as free, autonomous, self-determining, and we place a great emphasis upon our feelings as being decisive for who we are.

Now, from a Christian perspective, feelings are part of what it is to be human, but also we understand as Christians that made in the image of God, we are dependent creatures.

We're obliged creatures. We don't self-invent or self-create ourselves.

And what I want to do in this talk is analyze the problem and then suggest ways that the church can

combat this within our congregations.

You can meet and hear Dr. Carl Truman making the case against expressive individualism at this year's Making

the Case Conference, July 18th and 19th, at Concordia University Chicago.

Learn more at issue ZTC.org.

An interesting piece from the New York Times, more babies, how conservatives are winning young women, written oddly enough by not a religion reporter or a family life reporter or anything like that, but by a business reporter

who covers workplace culture. Welcome back to Issues, Et cetera. I'm Todd Wilkin, joining us to

discuss this New York Times piece. Terry Mattingly, he's Senior Fellow on Communications and Culture at St.

Constantine College in Houston, Texas.

He writes, Rational Sheep, a Substantack Newsletter on Faith Family and Mass Media.

He's author of the National On Religion column for the Andrews McNeill Universal Syndicate,

and for two decades, he led the getreligion.org website.

Terry, welcome back.

Glad to be here.

So this is a cover as much of Kirkfest in Dallas, Texas as it was anything else.

Did the New York Times really think that the Kirkfest was the best or even the only place to encounter culturally conservative women.

You know what?

...