The Agenda marches on. What agenda, you ask? The attempt to paint a portrait of evangelical Christians as the narrow-minded bigots of the world and the obstacles to “progress,” as defined by the new Progressive Movement. We see this in many facets, but let me point out two in particular today. One prong of The Agenda is to say that we are agents of propaganda against Muslims. It’s Christian bigotry, some say, when we warn of the Islamic threat to… Read more »
In The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis issues a warning about love of nature. It’s not that nature is a bad thing; contemplation of nature might lead us to contemplation of the One behind nature. However, we must not be led astray. When we look at nature, we are not seeing God but merely an image of His glory. Here is where Lewis offers a warning: We must not try to find a direct path through it [nature] and beyond… Read more »
Boston, on 5 March 1770, was the scene of an ugly incident. Having the King’s troops stationed in the city to ensure Bostonians followed Parliament’s edicts created a constant tension. The presence of those troops made citizens feel as if they were being treated like traitors to the Crown. Some of those troops, poorly paid, were looking for part-time work, which only increased the tension, as they would take jobs away from the locals. Clashes between soldiers and citizens were… Read more »
C. S. Lewis, in a number of his works, both books and essays, comments on the nature of Nature. Some people, he says, think that Nature is all there is, and that we simply spring out of this mechanistic, impersonal “thing.” Yet, as he reminds his readers continually, how can one even trust that conclusion if one’s own reasoning ability comes from this mechanistic, impersonal source? In an essay called “On Living in an Atomic Age,” he writes, If Nature… Read more »
I’ve called this blog Pondering Principles because I’m dedicated to laying a principled foundation for whatever subject I scrutinize. I also want to see principles–Biblical principles–become the basis for all public policy. Those of us oriented toward principles have a natural aversion to compromise; we have a tendency to see all compromise as a step backward. I would like to argue that is not the case. Let’s start historically and work our way to present-day issues. At the Constitutional Convention,… Read more »
Even in an age that denigrates Christian faith when it comes to basic morality, we have politicians (and others) who fall back on it for whatever expansion of government they want to see. The whole Religious Left is like this. They point to Scriptures that tell us to help the poor and disadvantaged, but with a twist—we are to use the power of government to carry out Jesus’ commands. The problem becomes more complex when it shows up in those… Read more »
The American colonies used every legal means available to them to protest unconstitutional acts of Parliament. When the Townshend Acts were passed in 1767, taxing tea, lead, paper, and glass without any representation on their part in Parliament, Massachusetts took action. Under the leadership of Samuel Adams, the Massachusetts assembly wrote the Circular Letter, stating that the measures were clearly opposed to all British constitutional precedents. Not only were they being taxed without their consent, but troops had been sent… Read more »