Lewis: The Self-Centeredness of Hell

  

Modern man doesn’t like to talk much about hell, unless it’s in some fanciful movie creation where one doesn’t have to worry about its reality. The reason we avoid thinking about the possibility of hell can be traced back to our similar reluctance to consider seriously our sinfulness. And what bothers us the most, I believe, about the idea of sin is that we know the root of it is our self-centeredness. We like being self-focused; we feel justified in… Read more »

God’s Remnant in a Time of Spiritual Darkness

  

I’m in a more reflective mood today; perhaps pondering is the right word since it fits with my blog’s title. I’ve been thinking about how the society has changed in my 60+ years. Most of those changes, in the moral realm, have not been beneficial. I grew up in a small town in northern Indiana, probably not more than 3500-4000 people. I knew everyone in my high school graduating class, to one degree or another, because there were only 99… Read more »

What’s Race Got To Do With It?

  

President Obama’s approval rating continues to drop. He’s in George W. Bush territory now, with the only thing keeping him from dropping further is the fanatical loyalty of those Americans who will cling to him no matter what he does. Why has he dropped so far? If you ask him, he’ll tell you the reason is racism. In fact, he recently commented, There’s no doubt that there’s some folks who just really dislike me because they don’t like the idea… Read more »

Cuomo: No Welcome Mat for Conservatives

  

The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, made a rather startling statement in a radio interview recently. Speaking of the nature of the Republican party—of which he apparently claims to be an expert—he said a battle is raging within the party between moderates and extremists. He identified those “extremists” in the following words: Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that’s who they are, and they’re the… Read more »

Finney: On Being Direct

  

Charles Finney spends quite a bit of time in his autobiography pointing out the differences between him and other ministers of the Gospel in the manner in which they communicate the message. He says he never really preaches; he just talks to the people. Other ministers, trained as they were at the colleges of the nineteenth century, would always “preach,” but never really connect with the people to whom they were preaching. Finney also relates his impressions of how ministers… Read more »

Lewis: Hell Cannot Veto Heaven

  

One of my favorite C. S. Lewis books is The Great Divorce. This fanciful account of a busload of occupants of hell getting an opportunity to visit heaven allows Lewis, through conversations between the passengers from hell and heavenly denizens, to discuss all the objections to the faith raised by those who reject it. In one such discussion, Lewis deals with those who say it’s unfair that those who enter into eternal bliss should be so happy when the rest… Read more »

The Senate Benghazi Report: Assigning Blame

  

Periodically, the American public needs to be reminded that on September 11, 2012, four Americans—including the ambassador to Libya—were murdered in Benghazi. Investigations into what happened, who was responsible for the lack of security, why the military sent no help, who was involved in the attack, etc., have been ongoing. One of the main problems with getting answers is that the Obama administration has refused to cooperate fully. Some people who were on the ground in Libya and others in… Read more »