Month: December 2014

Righteous Judgment

  

So much of our culture and politics today is devoted to accentuating the differences among us. We concentrate on the outward—race, gender, etc.–and minimize the internal. We are a hypersensitive people who perceive slights and disrespect in innocent comments and actions. Speaking truth about individuals is dangerous if those individuals are part of a group that continues to harbor resentments and grievances, both genuine and not so genuine. Sometimes those who dare to speak truth are accused of being racist,… Read more »

Jesus, Aslan, & a Worried Child

  

What has impressed me tremendously as I read through the letters of C. S. Lewis to Americans is his genuineness. He takes time to respond even to those most of us would consider a bother. I’m now into 1955 in these letters, and at this point Lewis is getting a steady stream of them from children who are reading his Narnia books. One letter stands out. It’s actually written to the boy’s mother, who has informed Lewis that her son… Read more »

Our Blind Guide

  

President Obama, a couple of days ago, in a speech trying to justify his edict on immigration policy, brought the Bible to his side for support. I quote: “The good book says, don’t throw stones in glass houses.” Now, if you are biblically illiterate, that will sound good. The only problem—probably only a minor one in his mind—is that there is no such verse in the Bible. Before he was president, he gave another speech in which he drew attention… Read more »

Good & Evil: Democrat Version

  

The Senate Democrats have released their report on America’s enhanced interrogation techniques. Most of this was already known; the timing is somewhat suspect. The hypocrisy blatant. Sen. Diane Feinstein, the driving force behind the report, has now told all enemies that they don’t have to worry about how we treat them, and that we are totally “transparent.” The CIA is castigated in this report for using techniques that might harm known terrorists—people who want to kill more Americans. The reason… Read more »

Whittaker Chambers & Psalm 91

  

When Whittaker Chambers was making his testimony against Alger Hiss, his former associate in the communist underground, the stress of the situation was sometimes overwhelming. But encouragement can come in many forms. In his classic autobiography Witness, he remarks on one of those means of encouragement: In those days, came the first of a series of letters that I was to receive throughout the Hiss Case. They came almost weekly and, in the depths of the Case, sometimes twice a… Read more »

Lewis: Honest Workmanship & God’s Glory

  

Combing through the letters of C. S. Lewis as research for a book I want to write has uncovered some real gems. Whenever I get one of these, I like to share it. In 1954, Lewis wrote to an American woman named Cynthia Donnelly, who apparently had asked what was necessary to be a good Christian writer. His response clearly points to the concept that everything we do, whether overtly Christian or not, is part of the calling God has… Read more »

The Dominion of New England: Tyranny Averted

  

I’ve been periodically presenting glimpses into American history, and have been writing about the Pilgrims and Puritans for quite some time now. There’s a lot to say. I’ve analyzed the Christian roots of the colonies they started (primarily Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, with Rhode Island added in) and have pointed to both the high points and low points of their development. In the 1680s, those colonies, along with New York, faced a threat to their original goals. The new king,… Read more »