“I cannot profess Christ as my Savior and simultaneously support pre-emptive war.”—Jim Winkler, United MethodistChurch, February 26, 2003 I’m still searching for the political fallout—for the outrage. It has been a week since Senator John F. Kerry, before a huge … Continue reading
Introduction Of all the things that rankle the critics of George W. Bush, few anger them more than his willingness to apply the word evil. Like President Ronald Reagan two decades before him, Bush operates from a Christian worldview that … Continue reading
In the early 1960s, impressionist Vaughn Meader developed a great routine about President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, who served as Attorney General of the United States. It seems the two got involved in a family spat about … Continue reading
This week marks the fifth anniversary of one of the worst weeks in the history of Fort Worth, Texas. What happened that week was a demonstration of evil and good, of a mad killer at work and a kind community … Continue reading
This week marks the fifth anniversary of one of the worst weeks in the history of Fort Worth, Texas. What happened that week was a demonstration of evil and good, of a mad killer at work and a kind community … Continue reading
Fighting itself will stir up hostile feelings: violence committed on superior orders will stir up the desire for revenge and retaliation against the perpetrator rather than against the powers that ordered the action. – Carl von Clausewitz (On War, Book … Continue reading
After drafting an Op-Ed piece entitled “Ronald Reagan and the Face of Conservatism” this week, I resolved to also write a brief piece on the relationship between Christianity and Conservatism. Before heading up to my study to begin, my wife … Continue reading
The passing of Ronald Reagan is a good time to access his relationship to the Conservative movement in America. Without doubt Reagan shaped its ideology and direction more than any other person in the 20th century, affirming and advancing certain … Continue reading
Although Ronald Reagan and John Quincy Adams died in very different ways, the national reaction was very similar. Adams collapsed after casting a vote at the House of Representatives and died two days later on February 23, 1848 at the … Continue reading
Over the last week, I’ve been asked many questions about Ronald Reagan’s faith. A particularly interesting exchange took place this morning. I told a radio talk-show host that Reagan’s faith was fundamental to nearly everything he did in the Cold … Continue reading
After the Vietnam War, when the draft was history, Army Chief of Staff General Creighton Abrams redesigned the all volunteer Army so it would never again be sent to war without the support of the American people. To that end, … Continue reading
I teach courses in humanities and military history at Grove City College, an “enthusiastically Christian” college in rural northwestern Pennsylvania. This morning I concluded my Humanities 302 course with the Home Box Office movie “Conspiracy” which depicts a conference held … Continue reading
Speaking at the Brookings Institution, Senator Ted Kennedy recently raised the specter of Vietnam by stating, “Iraq has become George Bush’s Vietnam.” In the nearly thirty years since North Vietnamese forces hoisted a Viet Cong flag over the Presidential Palace … Continue reading
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following lecture was presented at Grove City College on Nov. 3, 2003. The term “useful idiots,” usually attributed to Lenin, has entered the lexicon as a term for people who simply do not get it and are willing … Continue reading
The statue of three soldiers positioned near the Vietnam War Memorial misrepresents the typical Vietnam veteran. While the statue depicts soldiers in a rifle platoon, only a minority, about 20-percent of all Vietnam War veterans, served in such a capacity. … Continue reading
Thanksgiving is a great holiday because of its cultural, religious and political heritage, and that political heritage should not be forgotten. Most Americans are at least vaguely familiar with the cultural and religious background to Thanksgiving. The story of the … Continue reading
There is a time-honored tradition in American politics — a gentlemen’s agreement of sorts: Former presidents do not openly criticize current presidents, particularly on sensitive foreign-policy matters. Ex-presidents know intimately the difficulty of the job; they understand how much more … Continue reading
Los Angeles Times staff writer Richard T. Cooper, in an October 16th article titled, “General Casts War in Religious Terms,” waxed apoplectic about remarks made by Army Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. What upsets … Continue reading
In November, Pennsylvanians will have a chance to amend the state constitution to alter the nature of testimony in Pennsylvania’s courts, according to the Sept. 26 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. If the amendment is approved, it would allow people to testify in … Continue reading
On Monday, Dec. 8, 1941, my mother’s 48-year-old father and her 20-year-old brother went to the Army recruiting office to volunteer to fight Japan. The Army took my uncle but rejected my grandfather based on age. On Sept. 11, 2001, … Continue reading
