Pastor John Piper addressed Dr. Jordan Peterson’s perspective on happiness and meaning in a recent episode of the “Ask Pastor John” podcast. In it, Piper generally agreed with Peterson’s view based on Peterson’s own definitions but argued that the Bible presents a fundamentally different outlook on happiness compared to Peterson’s understanding of it.

“Given [Peterson’s] view that happiness is superficial and fleeting and unpredictable, and given the potentially positive content of the word meaningfulness, I don’t basically disagree with what he’s saying,” said Piper. “I don’t want people to pursue fleeting, unpredictable, impulsive, superficial emptiness, whether you call it happiness or anything else. I want people to have lives that are profoundly meaningful. So, amen, yes.”

“But for the last 50 years or so, I’ve been pursuing a different strategy than Jordan Peterson,” Piper continued, “in the hope of rescuing people from the pursuit of fleeting, unpredictable, impulsive, superficial, and (I would add) God-dishonoring, Christ-diminishing, Bible-ignoring, damning happiness.”

Jordan Peterson’s Perspective on Happiness

John Piper is the former pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and the founder of Desiring God. He is the author of more than 50 books and is known for his teachings on finding our purpose and happiness in God and on what Piper calls “Christian hedonism.”

One saying the pastor is known for is: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” The result of that truth, according to Piper, is “that you never have to choose between your greatest joy and God’s greatest glory.”

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Dr. Jordan Peterson is a Canadian psychologist and social commentator. It is common for people to refer to Peterson, whose content is featured on the Daily Wire, as conservative, but Peterson describes himself as a “classical liberal.” While he does not personally identify as a Christian, Peterson is interested in the Bible’s relevance to the human condition and has done lecture series on different biblical books, including Genesis, Exodus, and the Gospels.

On Nov. 24, Peterson posted the following statement about happiness on X: “Life is suffering. The purpose of life is not to be happy, but to find something that sustains you in spite of suffering.”

Life is suffering. The purpose of life is not to be happy, but to find something that sustains you in spite of suffering.

— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) November 12, 2024

In a Facebook reel featuring Peterson’s content on Daily Wire+, Peterson states, “We’re obviously not made for happiness because that’s a form of infantile hedonism, that narrow happiness that is counterproductive communally and with regard to the long run.”

As an alternative, Peterson suggested people are “suited for leadership and adventure.” He gave Moses and Abraham as examples, saying they were “called by God” to “great” and challenging tasks. Likewise, we are called to “the enterprise that’s great,” and if we fully accept it, we will find the “justification for life and our manner of not having death destroy us.”

In a clip of comments Peterson made during his Beyond Order Tour in 2023, he suggested people would be bored with a perfectly pleasurable, secure society and are more interested in “adventure, something like adventure.” Suffering, he believes, is a key part of living an adventurous life.

An Alabama pastor has been sentenced to two years in prison following his conviction on sexual misconduct charges. Bradrick Vail, formerly of Tree of Life Deliverance Ministry in Mobile, will serve one year each for two counts of sexual misconduct.

Editor’s note: This article refers to reports of sexual abuse that some readers might find triggering and/or disturbing.

Vail was originally charged with three counts of first-degree rape, three counts of sexual abuse, and one count of first-degree sodomy before being convicted of seven counts of sexual misconduct. 

Circuit court Judge Jill Phillips later dismissed five of those charges and sentenced him for the remaining two. 

Phillips dismissed the five charges against Vail on procedural grounds, as the statute of limitations had expired. However, she gave Vail the maximum sentence for each of the remaining charges and said that Vail’s actions as a pastor were “extremely disturbing.”

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Vail was originally arrested in May 2024 after two victims came forward to allege that Vail raped them.

One victim alleged that Vail assaulted her in 2022. She said that she had been introduced to Vail by a family member and had begun attending his church. One day, while Vail was at that same family member’s home, the victim said that Vail offered to pray for her. 

The victim recounted that Vail took her into a bedroom and instructed her to get undressed and kneel on top of a Bible. She said that Vail then put a sheet over her and raped her. 

The second victim alleged that Vail raped her in a similar fashion. She recounted being at the church to help paint. She said that Vail raped her after offering to pray for her sore shoulder. 

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While Vail’s defense team pointed out that neither woman called 911 or went to the hospital for a rape kit, both victims indicated that they feared Vail would harm them.

Candace Cameron Bure shared an emotional story about how God revealed a powerful truth to her through a strange Bible narrative and brought her greater freedom when it comes to her body image. Bure shared her experience with her daughter, Natasha Bure, and podcaster Allie Schnacky in a recent episode of the “The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast.”

During an episode titled “I Want to Love My Body BUT…Sometimes It’s Hard,” the three women explored their upbringings and the challenges they have faced with regard to how they see their bodies. At the end of the conversation, Bure said she wanted to tell Natasha and Schnacky about a time when God used a dream and the biblical account of Balaam’s donkey in Numbers 22 to reveal a truth about how Bure related to her body.

“I wake up from this dream one day, one morning, and God just vividly showed me that I’ve been like Balaam, and I’ve whipped my body,” said Bure through tears. “I’ve spoken to it so harshly, so mean: ‘What are you doing? Why do you look this way? Why are you fat?…Why can’t you be like every other body?’”

I was so mean to myself… and looking back, it breaks my heart.💔 Learning to speak with kindness to my body has been a journey, and I know I’m not alone in this. To those who relate — I hope you can feel me giving you the biggest virtual hug right now. And I hope you’ll join me… pic.twitter.com/H3FkxGxtJG

— Candace Cameron Bure (@candacecbure) April 8, 2025

Candace Cameron Bure Tackles the ‘Big Topic’ of Body Image

Candace Cameron Bure is an actor and producer and chief creative officer with Great American Media, as well as a Christian who is vocal about her faith. She sat down with Natasha and Schnacky for a podcast series focusing on the different pressures women face. 

RELATED: ‘Would I Ever Wear a Skirt’ That ‘Short’?—Candace Cameron Bure Talks Modesty With Her Daughter

The subject of body image is “a pretty big topic that I think a lot of us women struggle with,” said Bure. “I’m always so happy for the people that don’t struggle with this, and I know a lot of guys struggle with it too. But I feel like more people struggle with this than not.”

All three women agreed that their negative thoughts about their bodies began at least as early as middle school, if not elementary school. “That actually makes me really sad to say because I don’t even understand how a kid could be insecure about their body,” said Schnacky.

“I have very vivid memories of being in fifth grade and sixth grade and [I] felt so bad about my body,” Bure said. “And not that anyone even said anything bad about my body, but, like, I hated my arms. I’ve always had this love/hate relationship with my arms my entire life.”

Natasha shared, “I felt so insecure.” She remembers watching “America’s Next Top Model” and looking at her body in the mirror while realizing she would never be able to be on that show.

Bure pointed out that one way culture has changed since the 90s when she was growing up was that, then, it was trendy for supermodels to be extremely tall and thin. 

In fact, one style that emerged during this time was actually called “heroin chic.”

Angel Studios’ new animated film “The King of Kings” has earned more than $7.8 million in presales, according to Deadline.

The film, which is based on Charles Dickens’ “The Life of Our Lord,” features a star-studded cast. Oscar Isaac voices Jesus Christ, Mark Hamill voices King Herod, Pierce Brosnan voices Pontius Pilate, Forest Whitaker voices the Apostle Peter, and Ben Kingsley voices High Priest Caiaphas. 

The film also features Kenneth Branagh as Charles Dickens and Roman Griffin Davis as Dickens’ son Walter. The movie frames the story of Jesus in Dickens’ dramatic retelling against the backdrop of Dickens’ son’s obsession with King Arthur.

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Through the telling of Christ’s story, Dickens sets out to show his son that Jesus is the true King of Kings.

“The King of Kings” is directed by Seong-Ho Jang. The film is produced by Mofac Studios. In November 2024, Angel Studios acquired the rights to distribute the film.

The film’s $7.8 million in presales has exceeded that of Angel Studios’ 2023 box office hit “Sound of Freedom” in the same timeframe. “Sound of Freedom” went on to gross more than $250 million worldwide. 

That film starred Jim Caviezel, an actor famous for portraying Jesus himself. In “Sound of Freedom,” Caviezel portrays real-life figure Tim Ballard, an advocate against global human trafficking. 

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“‘The King of Kings’ is finding incredible support from both audiences and theaters, who are passionately seeking content that is not only richly entertaining but also deeply faith-affirming,” Brandon Purdie, global head of theatrical distribution and brand development at Angel Studios, said in a press release. “We’re seeing the same groundswell of energy and anticipation that surrounded the lead-up to ‘Sound of Freedom’—a growing wave of grassroots momentum.”

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – A mother of six children was stabbed to death by her Muslim husband in Uganda after she attended her first church service on March 23, sources said.

Nasiimu Mirembe, whose children range in age from 3 to 18, had put her faith in Christ on March 21 after hearing the gospel from a friend in eastern Uganda’s Busembatya town council. She was 41.

She and her friend were on their way to a church service on March 23 when a Muslim neighbor, Awudu Mbulalina, greeted them 200 meters from the worship site and continued on, said the friend, whose name is withheld for security reasons.

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Mirembe feared Mbulalina would tell her husband she was heading toward a church service and that he would kill her, but the friend encouraged her to trust in God and persuaded her to continue on.

After the service, where Mirembe was introduced as a new Christian, they were returning home when they met her husband, Adamu Mukungu, about 200 meters from the church site, the friend said. Mukungu did not greet them.

“I saw you come out of the church,” Mukungu told his wife, according to the friend. “What you have done is very bad, especially during this period of Ramadan.”

“Immediately he started slapping his wife,” the friend said. “I started screaming and shouting for help. Mukungu then removed a long knife and started cutting her with it.”

When Mukungu saw several church members led by a church elder rushing over, he fled, the friend said.

They took Mirembe to a nearby clinic for medical treatment, but after two hours, her condition worsened and she was referred to a larger hospital in Bugiri, where doctors found extensive internal and external bleeding.

Doctors declared her dead at 3:45 a.m. on March 24.

Mukungu has absconded, and police were still looking for him, a church member said.

Mirembe was mother to two sons and four daughters ages 18,15, 11, 9, 6 and 3.

The attack was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented.

Uganda’s constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate one’s faith and convert from one faith to another. Muslims make up no more than 12 percent of Uganda’s population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country. 

This article originally appeared at Morning Star News.

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS), which is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), will become the global seminary for Trinity Western University (TWU). TEDS, based in Deerfield, Illinois, has been training church leaders for 128 years. For the past four decades, TEDS has been in discussions with TWU about a possible collaboration.

TWU, based in Langley, British Columbia, is Canada’s largest privately funded Christian university. In a statement, TWU said it will “assume ownership of TEDS free of any financial obligations—as a gift to be stewarded for local and global future generations seeking a Christ-centred education with firm evangelical roots.”

The acquisition, which will take place in stages, is expected to be finalized by the end of 2025. “TWU anticipates welcoming seminary students into the new school at the Langley campus beginning in the fall of 2026,” according to the university.

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School & Trinity Western University Partner To Train Ministry Leaders

Carlton Harris, acting president of the EFCA, said:

Generations of biblically grounded pastors, leaders, and missionaries who received training through TEDS have served the EFCA faithfully. For this, I am deeply grateful. TEDS will continue to impact our movement as we, the EFCA, Trinity Western University, and the Evangelical Free Church of Canada, pursue the Great Commission together.

TWU President Todd F. Martin said, “We cherish our longstanding connection with the EFCA, and this addition of TEDS to our university will only deepen that relationship.”

Kevin Kompelien, president of Trinity International University, said, “At this time of both challenges and incredible opportunities in Christian higher education, I believe a school like TEDS will thrive best and accomplish our mission most effectively as part of a larger theologically and missionally aligned evangelical Christian university.”

Ed Stetzer: Partnership Signifies ‘Robust Future in Theological Education’

Ed Stetzer, dean of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and editor-in-chief of Outreach Magazine said the move represents the “seismic change” occurring in theological education. Shifting modalities and changing practices are disrupting the way church leaders receive training, he noted.

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Two Texas teenagers were killed last week on a road trip to visit a Christian college in Missouri. Brinlee Farris and Hannah Zebreski, both 18, were driving to preview Urshan University with a 16-year-old friend.

On the morning of April 3, their vehicle hydroplaned during a thunderstorm in Atoka County, Oklahoma. The Jeep Compass driven by Farris crossed a median into oncoming traffic, triggering a five-car accident.

Farris and Zebreski, who were ejected from the vehicle, both died at the scene. Their younger friend was seriously injured, as was the 63-year-old driver of another vehicle.

According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the cause of the accident was “unsafe speed for wet road conditions.” Public Information Officer (PIO) Mark Southall described the weather at the time as “treacherous,” saying, “I don’t think that they would’ve lost control if it hadn’t been for that heavy downpour.”

Although the teens weren’t from Oklahoma, Southall said Atoka County residents have been shaken by the tragedy. “When something like this happens, especially involving teenagers who had a bright future ahead of them, it hits everybody in the community hard,” said the PIO. “They had a lot going on for them, and unfortunately, a mistake took two lives way too early.”

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Urshan University Extends Condolences, Prayers

Urshan University, which is affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church International, held an event for prospective students last weekend on its Wentzville, Missouri, campus. After learning about the fatal crash, the school posted a tribute to the two teens on social media.

“Though Brinlee and Hannah were not students at Urshan University,” it wrote, “we looked forward to connecting with them this week. We grieve with those who knew them and hold their loved ones close in our thoughts.”

Sending prayers to the teens’ families, the school added, “May God’s peace and comfort surround everyone affected by this tragedy.”

The university’s online followers also expressed sorrow at the news. “I don’t even know who they were, and still I am in a lot of pain and deep sorrow,” someone wrote about Brinlee and Hannah. “May God’s Peace and Grace [console] every broken heart.”

Churches, Families Mourn Loss of Two Teens

Brinlee Farris was a member of Victory Life Church in Corinth, Texas. In an online tribute, the church described her as “a light to all that knew her.” Another local church shared that Farris had recently helped lead an energetic youth rally at their facility.