The Next Ronald Reagan

  

With Huckabee’s withdrawal from the Republican race, commentators are asking who will pick up what they term the “social conservative voters.” While I do recognize the basic validity of that name, it still rankles me that we have created such a divide in the conservative electorate. The conventional wisdom is that there are social conservatives and economic conservatives, and that the two groups are rather at odds with each other. That does happen, but I submit it’s an artificial division…. Read more »

The Budget, the Debt, & the Media

  

The budget and economic issues are once again going to come to the forefront shortly, if they haven’t already. Republicans and Democrats couldn’t be further apart in their view of the status of things and what needs to be done. While Republicans are warning against raising the debt ceiling without significant cuts in spending, Democrats have a different take on the situation: President Obama himself has yet to get serious about the coming economic Armageddon. When he does mention it,… Read more »

Reflections on This Life & the Next

  

The last paper is graded; the semester is over. That’s a good feeling. Breaks are always welcome, but I truly do live for the teaching ministry God has given me. I love the beginning of a school year, and there’s always something special about commencements. This is Southeastern’s commencement this year; it occurred last Friday. For the first time we had to rent a larger facility to hold everyone. I’m on the stage in the distance, but don’t bother trying… Read more »

Double Standards & Discernment

  

In the wake of the successful takeout of bin Laden, there are some who say we shouldn’t criticize the president anymore. I say we give him credit where it is due, but we keep in mind his overall performance and not let one correct decision cloud our memories or lead us to think that in foreign policy and the war on terror, he is on target. In fact, I believe the following illustration is a perfect representation of where he… Read more »

Easy Choice

  

It appears there is a direct line that can be drawn between the enhanced interrogation tactics used on captured terrorists and the trail to Osama bin Laden. Some continue to believe these tactics are too strong, but we should keep at least two things in mind: first, no one dies from waterboarding; second, it was very effective and has helped save lives. Isn’t that much better than the way some countries deal with those who attack them? What would critics… Read more »

The Appropriate Response to the Death of bin Laden

  

I’ve had a couple of different questions directed at me after the news of Osama bin Laden’s death. Let me use my post today to give my perspective on these questions. One of the questions is ancient—not new at all—dealing with the concept of a “just war.” There has been a strand of Christian thought that rejects the idea that any war is just. This viewpoint, normally labeled pacifism, says it is always wrong to take up arms regardless of… Read more »

The Wilkerson Testimonial

  

One day in the late 1960s, when I was in high school, somehow—and I don’t remember the details—I came across a book that made a major impact on my thinking and my understanding of a relationship with God. It was a book that also took me into a world of which I had no knowledge. It was called The Cross and the Switchblade. It was the story of a rural minister in Pennsylvania who sensed that God had called him… Read more »