Category: Christians & Culture

Commentary, from a Biblical perspective, on current events that are primarily cultural. There may be some overlap with politics and government, but the emphasis is on broader societal developments apart from politics, which also includes analysis of specific individuals.

A Personal Perspective on Evangelical Support for Trump

This is going to be a calmer post than I originally intended. My emotions ran high Saturday night with the results of the South Carolina primary. Make no mistake, I am deeply disturbed by political developments in the Republican party, but I will attempt to offer a reasonable commentary to explain my deep concern. While Trump’s victory, in itself, is disturbing, it’s the way he won that bothers me more—with the apparent backing of a plurality of evangelicals. According to… Read more »

C. S. Lewis: Impact on Americans (Part 6)

For the past five Saturdays I’ve shared results of my survey with the Wade Center on how C. S. Lewis’s life and writings have influenced Americans of our current generation. The earlier questions were quite specific, but at the end of the survey, I gave an opportunity for the respondents to add anything else they thought worthy of sharing. Here are some of those reflections. A number of respondents credit Lewis with halting their slide into unbelief while in college…. Read more »

Antonin Scalia: A Tribute

Every time famous people die, cartoonists depict them entering into heaven. I’m usually put off by those cartoons because of the underlying assumption that heaven is everyone’s destination after death, which is categorically untrue. I’ve made exceptions in the past: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher come to mind. I loved what cartoonists did with their entrance into heaven because of my assurance that they had a genuine faith. I feel the same with the passing of Antonin Scalia, a faithful… Read more »

C. S. Lewis: Impact on Americans (Part 5)

This week, I’m sharing some of the comments respondents to my Wade Center survey gave regarding the movie versions of Narnia. For the sake of brevity here, I’m excluding comments on earlier productions, such as a 1979 animated Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe and BBC productions of four of the Narnia books back in 1988-1990. So here is the amended question I asked: Have You Viewed Any of the Narnia Hollywood Productions? If So, What Is Your Opinion of Them? Some… Read more »

Trump: The Vulgar & the Crude

I listen to a lot of commentary about the current campaign for president. Over and over, I hear everyone saying this election is all about anger. More often, lately, I’m hearing the refrain that Trump is ahead because voters like his expressed anger and are planning to vote for him even though he doesn’t share their views on policies. That’s what disturbs me most. Isn’t it supposed to be about the right policies? For Christians, it should be even more… Read more »

Planned Parenthood’s Pure Evil

If you are looking for examples of pure evil in our society, look no farther than Planned Parenthood. What could be more evil than killing innocent children in the womb and then selling the body parts for profit? It’s not wise to invoke the Hitler comparison too often as it should be used only for the most vile practices. In this case, however, the comparison is appropriate. So when an undercover camera crew entices Planned Parenthood officials to admit to… Read more »

C. S. Lewis: Impact on Americans (Part 4)

In my 2014 survey, conducted with the help of the Wade Center at Wheaton College, I asked respondents to comment on the Shadowlands films, one produced by the BBC, and the other, more prominent one, by Hollywood.  Here’s the question I asked, along with the responses. Have You Viewed Any of the Shadowlands Productions? If So, What Is Your Opinion of Them? In asking this question, I knew most people would be familiar with the big-budget Hollywood version starring Anthony… Read more »