2016 has been a fantastic year for The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. We celebrated an all-time high in website traffic, an exponential growth in social media (approaching 35,000 Facebook fans), and a record number of … Continue reading
Faith & Society
Whatever Happened to Family-Friendly News?
It seemed like a good idea. Prepare a national news broadcast that parents can watch with their children without fear of trauma, nightmares, or lewdness. If I can watch the news with my children, then I have a natural opportunity … Continue reading
Melania Trump, Fashion, and Religious Liberty: A Strange Combination
People magazine recently reported news that a number of prominent fashion designers have refused to work with Melania Trump because they do not approve of her, or more likely, her husband’s politics and language. Given Donald Trump’s often offensive way … Continue reading
The Inside Story: What Really Happened with Roe v. Wade?
Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, courts have struck down many attempts by state governments to regulate the abortion industry. Just this past summer a Texas law requiring abortion-providing facilities to meet the same health and safety standards as outpatient … Continue reading
Hillary’s Faith: In God and Roe She Trusts
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The Washington Times. “Secretary Clinton, I want to explore how far you believe the right to abortion goes,” asked Fox News Channel’s Chris Wallace, moderator for the third and final presidential debate. “You have … Continue reading
Hillary Clinton’s “progressive vision” of religious freedom
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at Townhall.com. The 2016 debates are history, and although nearly every topic was hammered to heaven, one was not broached at all: a First Amendment guarantee that makes us uniquely American. Freedom of religion … Continue reading
Lying, Serial Lying, and the 2016 Presidential Race
Article VI of the U.S. Constitution prohibits a religious test as a qualification for any public office in the United States. This was a topic of interest just before the presidential election in 2012. And why? Because Republican candidate Mitt … Continue reading
The Cruel Irony of Hillary Clinton’s “Pro-Women” Stance
Hillary Clinton is campaigning that she, of all the candidates, is the one who is a “champion for women and girls” specifically because, among other things, she protects “women’s reproductive health” and “confronts violence against women.” Her primary talking point … Continue reading
Born That Way? A False Hypothesis
Literature reviews are a common thing in the world of academic research. They often involve esoteric topics confined to a narrow universe of scholarly interest. Few literature reviews, however, have generated as much controversy as the recently published paper “Sexuality … Continue reading
How Mother Teresa Challenged Hillary Clinton on Abortion
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at the National Catholic Register. Two very different women on the minds of Christians right now are Mother Teresa, with her canonization on Sept. 4, and Hillary Clinton, with her name on the presidential … Continue reading
Storm Clouds are on the Horizon
In predictable economic times, it makes sense—indeed it is essential—to put money aside and save for the coming rainy day. Trouble is brewing for each and every one of us. For some, it is just two appliances failing in the … Continue reading
The Changing Faith of Hillary Clinton
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Crisis Magazine. When many conservatives first learned back in 2007 that I had the temerity to write a book on the faith of Hillary Clinton, especially after books on the faiths … Continue reading
Relationships Matter — But Which Ones?
Everyone knows that relationships matter. But few of us pause to ponder exactly which relationships matter. Recently, I came across a study by the well-regarded Search Institute, a Minnesota research group whose early work identified a range of protective factors for young … Continue reading
Hillary Clinton, Saul Alinsky and … Lucifer? What was Ben Carson talking about?
Editor’s note: A longer version of this article first appeared at The American Spectator. In his speech at the Republican convention last week, Ben Carson made a statement that raised some eyebrows. “Now, one of the things that I have … Continue reading
Seeing through Rose Colored Glasses
Mary Poppins was “practically perfect in every way,” except that Mary Poppins isn’t real. I fall very short of “practically perfect” in any way, every single day. I do things I regret; even more I fail to do things I … Continue reading
Remembering a Grimly Prophetic July 4
Editor’s note: A shorter version of this article first appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. On July 4, 1826, America awaited a special moment. It was the young nation’s Jubilee. It was the 50th anniversary of its birth, of the signing of … Continue reading
Conscience and Republican Convention Delegate Voting Rules
Over the weekend a reporter on Fox News said something that focused my attention: “There is a move to have the Republican Convention Rules Committee enact a measure that would prevent bound delegates from abstaining from votes on the first … Continue reading
The Incredible Hopelessness of America’s Gun “Conversation”
For millennia, the ability to interpret hieroglyphics had been lost to the ages. So when Jean-Francois Champollion decoded the Rosetta Stone it was a monumental breakthrough. Since then, a “Rosetta Stone” has come to refer to anything that offers a … Continue reading
Happy Father’s Day, Jean
Father’s Day invites us to ponder the father figures we have known—not just our biological fathers, but any man who has blessed us with fatherly action at some point in our lives. Several years ago, I wrote about never having … Continue reading
More than Ever, We Need Each Other
My heart aches over the stories I hear about heroin overdoses. Local fathers post stories about their sons and daughters, fatal victims of the heroin market. Police conduct raids. The illegal marketing demand continues to fund Afghanistan poppy farmers. Other … Continue reading