Month: January 2014

Finney: On Being Direct

  

Charles Finney spends quite a bit of time in his autobiography pointing out the differences between him and other ministers of the Gospel in the manner in which they communicate the message. He says he never really preaches; he just talks to the people. Other ministers, trained as they were at the colleges of the nineteenth century, would always “preach,” but never really connect with the people to whom they were preaching. Finney also relates his impressions of how ministers… Read more »

Lewis: Hell Cannot Veto Heaven

  

One of my favorite C. S. Lewis books is The Great Divorce. This fanciful account of a busload of occupants of hell getting an opportunity to visit heaven allows Lewis, through conversations between the passengers from hell and heavenly denizens, to discuss all the objections to the faith raised by those who reject it. In one such discussion, Lewis deals with those who say it’s unfair that those who enter into eternal bliss should be so happy when the rest… Read more »

The Senate Benghazi Report: Assigning Blame

  

Periodically, the American public needs to be reminded that on September 11, 2012, four Americans—including the ambassador to Libya—were murdered in Benghazi. Investigations into what happened, who was responsible for the lack of security, why the military sent no help, who was involved in the attack, etc., have been ongoing. One of the main problems with getting answers is that the Obama administration has refused to cooperate fully. Some people who were on the ground in Libya and others in… Read more »

The Gates Book

  

Robert Gates is a man who has served faithfully on defense issues in administrations from Nixon to the present one. He has worked with both Republican and Democrat presidents and has built a reputation of steadfastness and integrity respected by both sides of the political world. He has now decided to let his thoughts out on what it was like to be secretary of defense for both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. Gates’s new book, Duty: Memoirs of… Read more »

A Tale of Competing Scandals

  

So now we have “Bridgegate.” Here are the facts—well, some of them, anyway. The George Washington Bridge, a key connector between Manhattan and New Jersey, and one of the busiest bridges in the country, had a number of its lanes closed a while back, thereby creating a massive traffic jam. The lane closures apparently were politically inspired, payback from some people who work for New Jersey governor Chris Christie for a Democrat mayor’s refusal to endorse Christie’s reelection bid. When… Read more »

Finney: No “Little” Sins

  

Is there any such thing as an inconsequential sin? A sin that doesn’t really matter all that much? Charles Finney didn’t think so, and here’s his rationale in his Revival Lectures: There are multitudes of such things by which the Spirit of God is grieved. People call them “little” sins, but God will not call them little. I was struck with this thought when I saw a little notice in The Evangelist. The publishers stated that they had many thousands… Read more »

Lewis: Made for Another World

  

We are earthbound creatures. We are transfixed on what we see around us. C. S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, reminds us that we are meant for a fuller existence, and that there is a reality we cannot see fully now, but if submitted to God and His will, forgiven of our sins and living righteously, we will see it. He also deals with a common misconception: Most of us find it very difficult to want “Heaven” at all—except in so far… Read more »