Author Archives: Dr Snyder

Lincoln Book Recommendation

Whenever I read a good book, I’d like to pass on a positive review. Last week, I commented on Lincoln, as his 200th birthday was upon us. I am presently reading Harold Holzer’s new Lincoln book (Holzer is a LIncoln scholar and a fine writer), Lincoln, President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter, 1860-1861. It is fascinating. What did Lincoln go through, what did he have to deal with, as he awaited his succession to the presidency? From November 1860… Read more »

Twisting Lincoln's Legacy

Yesterday, I spoke of my respect for Abraham Lincoln. Today, I want to make sure it is understood that I respect Lincoln’s actual words and deeds, not some new interpretation of what he believed. President Obama has wrapped himself in the Lincoln legacy ever since his train ride to the inauguration. Yet he is using Lincoln for his own political purposes. For instance, on Lincoln’s birthday, he spoke in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln’s home. He used the occasion to say that… Read more »

Happy Birthday, Abe

Yesterday was the 200th anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, a man who has been a source of great controversy among conservatives. They are divided: some respect him greatly, while others consider him a violator of the Constitution and a tyrant. In my early years, I tended to lean in the latter direction. I was so devoted to states’ rights and so distressed over the growth of the federal government that I felt Lincoln was a large part of… Read more »

The Ultimate Provider

As we listen to all the economic news, and see people who are devastated by the losses they have suffered, we might be tempted to forget some big truths. Some of those big truths can be found in the pen of the Apostle Paul, who suffered in many ways as he labored to spread the Good News. While in prison, he wrote, Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am…. Read more »

God Is in Control (Part III)

The Scripture to the left is often invoked to say that everything will work out alright regardless of what men choose. “Don’t you know,” we are told, “that God works all things together for good”? That’s called “selective reading” of a Scripture. Look closely. For whom do things work together for good? The promise is for those “who love the Lord,” the ones “who are the called according to His purpose.” This is not an outright promise that all things… Read more »

God Is in Control (Part II)

Although God calls the shots for the overall direction of His creation, He has given each of us a wonderful, and simultaneously frightful, gift—the ability to make choices in life. Our choices are the real thing, not simply illusions. As Moses stated to the children of Israel in the desert, This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and… Read more »

God Is in Control (Part I)

Even before the presidential election, I heard so many Christians say, “Well, no matter what happens, God is in control.” Do not number me as one who denies God’s sovereignty. He is the Lord of the universe and omnipotence is one of His natural attributes. He will determine when this whole earthly experiment has run its course, and one day everyone will have to stand before Him to give an account. Further, He decides the eternal destiny of each person…. Read more »