My father was a Presbyterian minister in rural northwest Alabama from 1961 to 1965. I came of age there, then left the University of Alabama with an M.A. in history in 1969. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Governor George … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The American Spectator. The year 2019 brought some notable golden anniversaries from a wild year: 1969. Some were glorious, such as the Moon Landing; others were scurrilous, scandalous, such as the Manson … Continue reading
The initial reports read to me a bit like the losers won, but the church of my upbringing is on the verge of coming apart after decades of internal turmoil. The details of the deal will be important, but leaders … Continue reading
When you think life revolves around you then destruction is waiting at your doorstep. In a recent YouTube video, NFL star Antonio Brown, known as “AB,” passionately reached out to share his self-absorbed life. The video captured how he views himself. … Continue reading
Amidst this season of gift-giving and merry-making, let’s ponder three remarkable aspects of the nativity of the baby Jesus two millennia ago. #1. Birth to a virgin. To atheistic materialism, this seems like a fairy tale. Spiritually, though, what could … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at First Things. Some years ago, I wrote a short book in which I argued that, while political thinking was complicated, voting was not. One could agree with some parts of a politician’s … Continue reading
“I had no idea how critical religion is to the functioning of democracy.” So said a Marxist economist from China conversing with Harvard Professor, Clayton Christensen. This Chinese Communist supposed that American democracy has worked because “most Americans, most of … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at National Catholic Register. A shorter version appeared at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Not every Thanksgiving in America had the feeling of gratitude like Thanksgiving Day a hundred years ago. That Thanksgiving 1919 was truly … Continue reading
While all the rage in education, my hackles rise when an educator declares, “We learn from our students” or “Students should construct their own knowledge.” Granted, the 55 years since I was a freshman may explain my antediluvian notion that … Continue reading
Last Tuesday, I picked up three of my kids from church after youth group. It was a little after 5:00. I wasn’t sure what had been on the agenda for the afternoon. “Dad, we had an amazing experience,” my … Continue reading
A significantly lower percentage of young men are now obtaining college degrees compared to women. We have known this for some time now. As Jon Birger pointed out in his 2015 Date-onomics, and as the mass media trumpeted widely, among … Continue reading
My family just visited Chocolate World at Hershey Park in Hershey, Pennsylvania—the so-called “sweetest place on earth.” For those unfamiliar, it’s a giant candy-land. The primary attraction is a tour where visitors ride in self-guided vehicles through an exhibit learning … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at Crisis Magazine. “If someone calls it socialism,” said Rev. William Barber at the August meeting of the Democratic National Committee, “then we must compel them to acknowledge that the Bible must then promote … Continue reading
If people fear what they don’t understand, then one of the most feared things today is religious liberty. It’s standard practice for mainstream and left-leaning news outlets to handle the notion with scare quotes when it conflicts with the civil … Continue reading
The Gottman Institute is one of the premiere organizations promoting evidence-based approaches to couple/marital relationships. The institute notes that it has“developed an approach that not only supports and repairs troubled marriages and committed relationships but strengthens happy ones.” The approach … Continue reading
I recently returned from a mission trip to Brazil with eleven members of my Presbyterian church in Wilmington, North Carolina. Partnering with a Presbyterian congregation in Manaus, our team, which included three physicians and two nurses, furnished medical assistance, dental … Continue reading
Throughout the 40 years I knew him beginning our freshman year as suite mates at Grove City College, Sam Casolari distinguished himself as a model gentleman. He stood out among the seven of us guys who lived together for his … Continue reading
The “hook” of the story intrigued me: “This hasn’t happened in all of modern history…” An email from “The Crux” last month blared, “Global population growth to virtually stop by 2100.” According to a Pew Research Center analysis, “the world’s … Continue reading
Nike courted controversy when it cancelled a new line of Betsy Ross flag-stitched sneakers just before the Fourth of July. The American shoemaker, valued at over $130 billion, pulled the shoes after former NFL quarterback and company spokesperson Colin Kaepernick … Continue reading
Among recent actions by the U.S. Supreme Court, a four-sentence order may set the stage for the court to eventually address the collision between free speech and religious freedom on one hand and gay rights on the other. The order … Continue reading
