What is restored? The form of the Song answers the question. It's a polyphonic poem, interleaving the voices of male and female, whose halting dance of mutual desire is cheered on by a chorus. To the consternation of some conservative readers, the Bride initiates the duet, longing for the Bridegroom's inebriating kisses, intoxicated by his fragrance, hoping to escape to a chamber where they can drink together the wine of love. The Lover responds with praise of her eyes, her body, her beauty.

Today, in 2024 America, the phrase "religious war" evokes mostly far-off outrages: Muslim Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria serially attacking Christian villages and massacring every man, woman and child while burning their homes to the ground. Atheistic Communist China persecuting virtually all religions, from Christians to Uyghur Muslims to Tibetan Buddhists to Falun Gong practitioners.

Nothing is more important for children of God than to hear from their heavenly Father, especially during an extreme spiritual attack. This month, millions of voices will attempt to tell you how to think. That's why it's dangerous to neglect your Bible. Heed the command of Romans 12:2: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God."

Predictably, there have been problems. There have been reports, for example, of transgender prisoners transferred to female prisons raping fellow inmates and prison officers. While the NHS had provoked ire by instructing medical staff to stop using terms such as breastfeeding and vaginal birth for mothers-to-be, in favour of 'chestfeeding' and frontal birth.