Editor’s note: A longer version of this article first appeared in American Thinker. Progressivism is all-the-rage nowadays, with liberals having jettisoned the “liberal” label for the less maligned tag of “progressive.” This is tactical as much as philosophical. It’s fascinating … Continue reading
Faith & Society
Old Pencils
The pencils I bought four years ago for my third and fourth grade Sunday school class are getting shorter while the children who have wielded them are growing taller. The school bus yellow paint is chipped and worn. The pink … Continue reading
A Message on “The Progressive Surge and Conservative Crackup?”
Editor’s Note: As we at The Center for Vision & Values prepare to wrap up our sixth annual conference tonight, we would like to thank everyone who participated in “The Progressive Surge and Conservative Crackup?” For those of you who … Continue reading
Poland: Remembering Two Tragedies
The crash of a Polish airplane in the Russian territory of Smolensk last weekend is a stunning tragedy, taking the life of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and high-level figures in the Polish government. Upwards of 100 people were … Continue reading
The “Social Justice” Fallacy? Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
Many Christians over many years have been beguiled by the Religious Left’s use of the term “social justice.” This is because Christians rightly love justice and hate injustice. But “social justice”—or, at least, how it’s often used by liberal Christians—isn’t … Continue reading
How to Help the Poor
Most Christians today acknowledge that caring for the poor is a biblical requisite. The primary debate among them is over how we can best fulfill this mandate, which more than 2,000 verses of Scripture prescribe. For example, a group of … Continue reading
Christian Charity: Social Justice and the Good Samaritan
Charity—a loving spirit concretely expressed in unselfish good deeds to one’s fellow man—is a primary Christian duty. Nobody who has read the New Testament can come to any other conclusion. In his parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), Jesus … Continue reading
Hillary Clinton and the Mother Teresa Home for Infant Children
Editor’s note: A longer version of this article first appeared in The Weekly Standard. A few years ago, I wrote a book on the faith of Hillary Clinton. Released in 2007, the book flopped, dismissed by conservatives who didn’t believe … Continue reading
How Christian Were the Founders? The Case of Madison and Jefferson
A recent article in the New York Times Magazine, titled “How Christian Were the Founders’” has evoked extensive discussion, as has the decision of the Texas State Board of Education to include more religious content in social studies books, which … Continue reading
Hanging Mao on the Tree?
I’ll begin this article with a few justifications to try to preempt irate emails from Obama supporters: First off, I write on faith, politics, and the presidency, having done books on the subject and lots of articles; this includes the … Continue reading
God Gets His Healthcare Bill
The most frustrating thing I’ve dealt with in professional life was eight years of outrageous, baseless charges against President George W. Bush on matters of faith. Even when Bush was simply asked about his faith, and responded with utterly benign … Continue reading
The Character of George Washington
What made George Washington the most remarkable man of an extraordinary generation? He was not an intellectual giant like Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, or James Madison. Compared with most other founders, he was not well educated (he attended … Continue reading
The Church and the Social Gospel
Should churches and individual Christians seek to help people with material problems and social needs, remedy social ills, and improve social institutions’ Throughout history many congregations, Christian organizations, and individual believers have labored to do these things. Today, however, some … Continue reading
Descendants of America’s Eugenic Past
As of this morning, Angie Jackson’s RU-486 induced abortion has been viewed on YouTube more than 140,000 times. She said she filmed herself in the midst of an RU-486 abortion to demystify the procedure. Four weeks pregnant, she signed off … Continue reading
The Politics of Arrogance
On the eve of the German offensive against France in August 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm confidently asserted to some departing troops, “You will be home before the leaves have fallen from the trees.” The German monarch was known neither for his … Continue reading
The Founders: How Christian Were They?
One of today’s most contentious culture wars is over the religious commitments of our nation’s founders. Were most of them orthodox Christians, deists, or agnostics’ Scholarly books, college classes, radio talk shows, and blogs all debate this issue, and the … Continue reading
Forgotten?
Do you ever feel forgotten, overlooked, or helpless in a world that seems increasingly confusing, rancorous, and on the brink of even more uncertainty and lurking disaster? Maybe you long for someone to come along and say, “The only thing … Continue reading
God and Man at the National Prayer Breakfast
President Obama spoke yesterday at the National Prayer Breakfast. I’ve long studied the sitting president’s remarks at these breakfasts, particularly President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, and President Ronald Reagan. I note this to hopefully lend a little credibility … Continue reading
Taxpayers Fund Abortions But Not School Vouchers
In my last article, a somber remembrance of Roe v. Wade, I called attention to something that shocked readers: I noted that the Obama administration and Democratic Congress “rejected funding for school vouchers for poor children in Washington, DC, but supported funding … Continue reading
Remembering Roe: A Forgotten Warning from Ronald Reagan
Given the somber anniversary of Roe v. Wade—source of 40 million abortions since 1973—I thought I’d share an excellent but forgotten speech by President Ronald Reagan. The speechwriter was Peter Robinson, featured guest of our Reagan Lecture this year. Reagan’s remarks, made … Continue reading