Month: June 2016

The Attempt to Destroy Christian Education

  

Let’s not play word games. Let’s say what’s really happening in American culture and how it’s being reflected now in its government. What we have is a rising anger and antipathy toward Christianity among a growing number of Americans who want to rebel against the moral parameters that the Christian faith upholds. What they don’t understand, of course, is that those moral standards are for everyone’s good and that they are what hold a society together. Without them, chaos will… Read more »

Celebrity “Conversions”: The Trump Report

  

In my decades as a Christian believer, I’ve witnessed a number of claims about celebrities who recently became Christians. In my early years, each claim was very exciting, as it seemed to show how God’s mercy reaches to everyone no matter how morally depraved they have been. Then I would expectantly wait for their lives to be changed and their testimony to be life-changing for others. Most of the time, I have been disappointed; they seemed to continue on their… Read more »

Lewis & the Public Square (Part 2)

  

Last Saturday, I posted a portion of the paper I’m delivering to the Academic Roundtable at the C. S. Lewis Foundation’s summer conference. Today, I’d like to offer another excerpt dealing with how Lewis viewed the Christian’s responsibility to speak to the culture and government in the public square. Lewis called on his fellow Christians to engage the culture in every possible way. Education was certainly a key component for furthering the Biblical worldview; he called it “only the most… Read more »

A Culture of Corruption on Both Sides

  

There is a growing angst in the hinterlands about our choices in this upcoming election. In the evangelical community, a divide is opening between those who have decided to support Donald Trump and those who cannot do so. As we navigate this divide, let’s please avoid personal invective and accusations against those of us who cannot vote for Trump, that somehow we are conspiring to have Hillary Clinton elected. I will repeat: in my view, both Clinton and Trump are… Read more »

Trump Meets the Evangelicals

  

Yesterday, 900-plus evangelicals met with Donald Trump to ask questions and try to figure out if they can support his candidacy. I know only some of the names of individuals who were present. The audience was mixed, I’m sure, in its attitude toward the presumptive Republican nominee. I don’t wish to unfairly criticize those who attended; in most circumstances, I too would want to have the opportunity to hear a candidate and get a better feel for him/her. Neither am… Read more »

The Antidote for Despair

  

We live in a culture spiraling down into depths of depravity that many of us never expected to witness. We have presidential candidates who are so corrupt that neither deserves a vote. We could, if we allowed it to happen, allow ourselves to spiral down into despair. God, though, doesn’t want that to happen. We need to stay focused. My daily Scripture reading this morning brought me to 2 Corinthians 5. I’ve been reading through the Scripture in the Message… Read more »

Lewis & the Public Square (Part 1)

  

I’ve finished the first draft of my paper for the C. S. Lewis Foundation’s conference next month. The assigned topic for the Academic Roundtable is “Faith, Freedom, and the Public Square.” Participants can come at this topic in any way they choose. I chose to address the distinct difference historically between the terms “liberty of conscience” and “pluralism,” noting the first one rests on the belief that there is absolute truth to be found, while the second offers a basis… Read more »