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.

Evil and Good, Darkness and Light

Today I want to take a break from a specific current event, from cartoons, from book reviews, from links to other articles. Instead, I want to share a few thoughts from what I read in the Bible the other day. Going through the book of Isaiah, I came across a passage I’ve noted before, but one that deserves greater attention. It’s found in chapter five: Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood, and sin as if… Read more »

Pearls of Wisdom

Yesterday at Southeastern University was a good day. My department brought in as a special speaker Dr. Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief of World magazine, which serves as an excellent commentary on current events from a Biblical perspective. We kept Dr. Olasky quite busy. In the morning, he delivered a message in chapel that focused on how to analyze issues through a Biblical lens, showing that there are gradations in how directly the Scriptures apply to various situations. Some are obvious—abortion, homosexuality—while… Read more »

Southeastern’s Forum

The university where I teach, Southeastern, each year holds a Forum where leaders in various fields—Christian ministry, business, and politics—come and share their approach to leadership. It attracts well-known leaders, and is quickly becoming a heralded annual event. I attended most of the sessions last week and came away inspired by the stories and principles the speakers communicated. One of this year’s speakers was Franklin Graham, son of the famous evangelist. For those who don’t know, Graham not only oversees… Read more »

The Supreme Court Got It Right on Westboro

Yesterday’s post was on Libya because I had inquiries about my thoughts on that subject. Today’s post also stems from an inquiry, this time about a recent Supreme Court decision on freedom of speech involving the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. It seems that most of its members are part of one extended family, and that there are fewer than 100 people in the congregation. I’m not really keen on calling this group a church because I don’t believe… Read more »

Christian Morality: A Harmful Infection?

Let me introduce you to Owen and Eunice Johns. They live in the UK and have taken care of 15 foster children since 1992. Social workers have praised them as “kind and hospitable people” who “respond sensitively” to the children who have made a home with them. When they applied again to have another foster child, they ran into a snag. You see, the Johns are devoted Christians who happen to believe that homosexuality is “against God’s law and morals.”… Read more »

God's Original Intent

The last two days, I’ve promoted a book of devotionals based on the writings of C. S. Lewis. Id like to offer one more example from that book today. I comment on politics and government regularly, and often I speak of the concept of original intent—how we need to look back at what the author or authors meant when they wrote their words rather than taking them out of context or ignoring their original meaning. Lewis applies that same principle… Read more »

Modern Verbicide

Yesterday, I recommended a new book of devotionals based on the writings of C. S. Lewis. Today, I’d like to give you a sample of what you will find inside. One of Lewis’s lesser-known works is Studies in Words, which is primarily academic. However, there are salient points from those pages that apply to everyone. Here’s one entry that deals with the meanings of words, and how we often dilute those meanings. It begins with a quote from Lewis, then… Read more »