Houston, You Have a Problem

  

We’re about to turn a corner on religious liberty in America, and it’s a chill wind that greets us. Quoting from the story: The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court. Wait a minute. Houston? Texas? One of the most conservative states in the… Read more »

Journalism Today

  

If you’ve paid any attention to what I write daily, you have to know my opinion of modern journalism is pretty low. Unlike some critics, though, I don’t really believe that there was ever a time when journalism ranked high on the truth-and-objectivity scale. Being a historian has allowed me to analyze past journalistic approaches. Most of the time, there always was an agenda for any newspaper or other means of communication. Political parties hired their own editors and published… Read more »

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

  

Last Sunday, I introduced you to the book Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments by Joy Davidman, who later became Joy Davidman Lewis, wife of the renowned Christian apologist. I commented that one of the things I most appreciated about this book was her unique wording, the way she stated things to capture one’s attention. I have another few morsels from that book today that I would like to share. In commenting on the fear that… Read more »

Lewis: The Unique Blend

  

One of the more interesting things to me about C. S. Lewis was his unique blend of the scholarly, academic side of life with what might be called the common touch. His scholarly publications were superb, and acknowledged as such by nearly everyone; yet his reach with his Christian message has gained a wide following in the general population. Perhaps I’m drawn to this aspect of him because I find myself in the same situation. Not that I’ve written a… Read more »

Puritan Controversy #3: Quakers

  

The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay had their own reasons for setting up their colony. They sought as much uniformity of thought as possible, which is good in itself, but which also led to confrontations with those who disagreed with the leadership. When Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson went astray from the original vision, and their beliefs threatened the existence of the colony, they were banished. As I mentioned in previous posts, that punishment wasn’t all that severe; they simply wanted… Read more »

The Ebola Scare

  

I’ve been following the Ebola saga, as I’m sure most Americans are. We’re not used to the idea that a killer disease might find its way over here. We expect such things to happen in some other part of the world while we sit safe and protected. Now we have to reconsider our expectations. I’m no alarmist when it comes to the Ebola scare. I’m not yet convinced we’re going to be overwhelmed by it. Yet the government’s attempts to… Read more »

The Life-Affirming Ten Commandments

  

How often, when we think about the Ten Commandments, do we see them in the negative light of prohibitions? What if we were to consider instead that their main purpose was to point to a life of fulfillment in God? Joy Davidman (who later became the wife of C. S. Lewis) wrote a book back in 1953 that is little read today. That’s a shame. In it, she takes a fresh look at those Ten Commandments and shows how we… Read more »