In my early years as a Christian, I received many valuable insights from reading the works of Charles Finney, one of the premier evangelists of the nineteenth century. Finney is controversial to some, but to me, he opened a door for understanding the love of God in a way few others could. On Sundays now, I’m going to share comments by Finney, taken primarily from his Systematic Theology. Today’s excerpt comes from the preface; I use most of this quote… Read more »
In the preface to his Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis points out the problems with man’s perception with respect to the existence of Satan and his minions: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician… Read more »
Confession time. Until a couple days ago, I had never heard of Melissa Harris-Perry. That’s because I don’t watch MSNBC. I have better things to do with my time than spend it on a network that has been shown, via reputable studies, to be little more than a shill for the Obama administration. Yet my attention was drawn to comments made by Ms. Harris-Perry, who apparently is a weekend host for one of MSNBC’s programs. According to Rich Lowry of… Read more »
Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of Britain from 1979-1990, departed this world yesterday morning and, I hope, has entered into an eternity without the pain and weakness she had to endure over the past few years. Raised a Methodist, daughter of a middle-class grocer, not born into privilege, she had to work hard to earn a university degree, become accepted into the gentleman’s world of politics, and rise, improbably, to the highest elected office in her land. Determined, conservative, and confident… Read more »
Anyone remember Kermit Gosnell? I wouldn’t be surprised if that name has sunk into oblivion, victim of a news blackout worse than any so-called blacklist of the 1950s. That being the case, let me jog your memory. Gosnell was arrested in January 2011 for his abortion practices in Philadelphia. He was accused of routinely performing late-term abortions that were no different than infanticide. His case has now come to trial, and the grisly facts are coming to the fore. Gosnell’s… Read more »
We live in an age when the idea of sin is dismissed as a relic of an outmoded religious system designed to suppress one’s desires for happiness. As we’ve seen so abundantly recently, in our entertainment media and all the way to the Supreme Court, equality has now been applied to same-sex relationships. Anyone who disagrees with this new enlightenment is archaic. Our society needs the message that is at the very ground level of Christian understanding: all men are… Read more »
I write often about the drift of our culture into acceptance of a type of sex God forbade. For many people, this whole issue is simply a matter of “democracy”—let the people decide what they want. When you introduce the moral element, they tell you that’s irrelevant. All that matters is that we are devoted to popular sovereignty. As a historian, I know that term well. The last time it was front and center in the political debate was prior… Read more »