Lewis: The Reality of the Spiritual

  

C. S. Lewis was an atheist in his younger days, but eventually had to abandon his materialism and come face-to-face with the reality of the spiritual. Ten years after his conversion, in an essay called “Religion: Reality or Substitute,” he explained why the spiritual world is not just a figment of men’s imagination: Authority, reason, experience; on these three, mixed in varying proportions, all our knowledge depends. The authority of many wise men in many different times and places forbids… Read more »

Why “Pondering Principles”?

  

Every once in a while, I like to remind readers of this blog just why it’s called Pondering Principles. A principle is a general truth from which one can begin reasoning to proper conclusions with respect to God, man, and society. One must make sure, of course, that the principles one espouses are valid. Here are some principles I believe are demonstrable in Scripture, and that are confirmed throughout history. These form the basis for all my commentary, whether on… Read more »

The Puritans’ City on a Hill

  

The word “Puritan” has developed, over time, into a reproach. If someone is tagged a Puritan today, that supposedly means he is an austere, humorless, narrow-minded bigot. Yet what do most people really know about the Puritans who came over to America in droves, especially during the 1630s? Not much. What we have now is primarily a stereotype. Puritans were far more diverse than the stereotype allows. Some, indeed, were lacking humor, but that might be because they were persecuted… Read more »

Obama’s Missteps in the Muslim World

  

Step back for a moment and survey the upheaval in the Muslim world in the last few years and contemplate the policies of the Obama administration toward the changes that have taken place. What you will see is a consistent pattern—not a successful policy, mind you—that reveals the worldview of our president. Let’s start with Egypt. Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled that country since the early 1980s, was forcibly removed from power. Now, he certainly wasn’t a wonderful leader, in… Read more »

Lewis: Joy Fulfilled

  

C. S. Lewis wrote often of his search for Joy (which he always capitalized). As a non-Christian, it was an inconsolable longing for something always beyond reach. As a Christian, it took on an entirely new quality. In his autobiography, Surprised By Joy, he goes into some detail about what it meant to him. I’ll let him share now: In a sense, the central story of my life is about nothing else. . . . It is that of an… Read more »

Anyone Remember the IRS Scandal?

  

If you know who this woman is, you are part of the minority who stays on top of news that is truly important. If you have forgotten who she is, or her face draws a complete blank, please allow me to fill in that blank. She needs to be known because she represents one of the most heinous activities of the federal government in recent years—the attempt to suppress all political opposition to Barack Obama. She is Lois Lerner, one… Read more »

Liberty vs. License: Where I Stand

  

Comments from one reader of yesterday’s blog post leads me to want to explain something further. Yesterday’s post was concerned with the rush to judgment in Ferguson and the possibility that the greatest potential victim in this entire episode is the death of due process. There has been, in my opinion, too much pre-judging taking place. You saw it in the many nights of protest that included looting and rioting. You saw it in the statement of Missouri’s governor when… Read more »