Month: December 2011

Renewed Minds

Why do I write these daily commentaries? And why do I so often focus on current politics? After all—I can imagine some readers thinking—shouldn’t I spend my time more profitably, writing about theology and/or the Christian’s everyday walk with the Lord? Don’t I realize—they may continue to ask themselves—that this world is passing away and all that matters is eternity? I understand the concerns behind such questions. Here’s what I believe. First, our relationship with God, through Christ, is the… Read more »

Chambers, Reagan, & the Spiritual Crisis

I finished another semester last Friday. The goal of my teaching is always to point students to Biblical truth; history is the vehicle. At the end of my course covering the second half of American history—after I’ve spent weeks showcasing the loss of Biblical principles in America over the last century or so—I like to close the course with a couple of quotes from those who clearly witnessed this loss and sought to reverse it. Whittaker Chambers and Ronald Reagan… Read more »

A Word of Wisdom from the Past

A voice from the American past has a message for us today. His name was James Garfield, who was elected president in 1880. Four years earlier, on the centennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Congressman Garfield—who also was an ordained Disciples of Christ minister—offered this sage insight in a speech commemorating American independence: Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because… Read more »

The Totalitarianism of Government Compassion

Let me just speak from the heart today without any cartoons. I’m deeply disturbed by a number of developments in our nation, but one comes to the forefront of my mind this morning as I sit to write. Unless this is changed, there is no hope for turning around the trajectory of our culture. In the Roman Empire, government officials had to come up with ingenious ways to keep the populace under control. So many of the people were unemployed… Read more »

Lessons to Be Learned

Back in the 1990s, one of the most influential political organizations was the Christian Coalition. Today it is nonexistent. The goals of the group were excellent, and a number of victories were won. I attended a couple of the Road to Victory conferences in D.C. All the big names in the conservative political world fell over themselves to speak at these conferences. Then came the fall. A combination of money troubles—some brought on by liberal spending, ironically—unfair government investigations, which… Read more »