Does the Church Fail the Uneducated?
The church in America has in part given way to a social club that maintains the apparatus of Christianity while providing different social classes, from the lower middle class on up, respectability and community. This respectability and community sometimes comes at the cost of exclusion of the poor and less-educated.
BGEA hosts World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians
This week in Washington, D.C. the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is hosting its World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians. Believers from over 130 countries gathered for the summit, with many of them sharing their personal stories of persecution. Franklin Graham opened the summit yesterday with an address that put the spotlight on what he […]
When the People Cheer – Strip-Clubs and Black Thought’s Poetic Insight
On The Roots newest album ‘. . . and then you shoot your cousin,” one of the most powerful tracks is ‘When the People Cheer.’ Each stanza is written from a different perspective. The third stanza, Black Thought’s stanza, is written from the perspective of a sex addict that has reached both a financial and existential low because he is enslaved to sexual pleasures. He knows that what he is doing is wrong, but he can no longer resist the strip clubs. He turns in to an after-hours joint to blow his last dollar on a lap dance.
The Worth of Guilt: Questions from Taurus Carroll and Bernard Nathanson
What is required for someone to be guilty? This has been brought to the forefront of our minds by the case of Carroll v. Alabama. A robbery-turned-murder, the case of Taurus Carroll has come to the forefront in recent weeks. Falling into the gray areas between differing state laws and provoking Supreme Court intervention, the […]
On Saving the World
The other day I stumbled across a new series on Netflix: Bill Nye Saves the World. Now I, like millions of public school children, grew up watching Bill Nye, so I figured I’d try out this new series. At the forefront, he told the audience that this was not going to be the same Bill […]
A Sense of Purpose, but no Sense of Place: The Media Will Always Get the 2016 Election Wrong
During the last election cycle, even up through the first half of election night, every major media outlet predicted a comfortable victory for Hillary Clinton. Here you can see one much-referenced election calculator, timed out like a broken stopwatch, displaying the best prediction the pollsters could give us: 71% chance of a Clinton victory, last […]
Cutting the Legs Out from Under Religious Liberty
Recent attacks on Christian florists, bakers, and pizza-pie makers opened the Church’s eyes to the threat against our religious liberties. By refusing to rise and applaud today’s favored sexual perversions, Christians risk heavy fines and business foreclosures. In response, many Christians have mounted an admirable defense of religious freedom, asserting that Christians must not be […]
Why Atheists Have No Reason to March for Science; Only Christians Do
CNN reported on the so-called “March for Science” on April 22nd, 2017 in an article titled “March for Science: Protesters gather worldwide to support ‘evidence.’” The article states, “At the main March for Science, demonstrators gathered at Washington’s National Mall to hear speakers laud science as the force moving humanity forward, and rail against policymakers […]
Trump the Blasphemer
Trump opted to skip out on this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner, and instead held a rally in Pennsylvania. Now, remember it was really Obama who set the precedent for being “Campaigner-in-Chief“. So if Democrats would like to criticize Trump for such behavior, they should also acknowledge their beloved Barry is Trump’s inspiration on this […]
Populism’s Takeover of the West
“I’m against the Right of money, and the Left of money. I’m the candidate of the people!” Sound familiar? You may think this is a quote from a Trump rally, and you’d have good reason to. Trump ran on a platform of “draining the swamp” of corrupt politicians and giving the people their voice back. […]
Packaging the Tribe: Selling More than Music
Netflix’ new documentary Hip Hop Evolution is a history of the development and rise of Hip Hop and Rap. In one of the interviews, Ice T, a primeval purveyor of Gangster Rap, talks about his early rhymes: “I was just writing about my reality.” He was trying to capture “the laid back vibe of reality.” The people in the neighborhood listened because they recognized their life in his words. According to Ice Cube, another early Gangster Rapper, Ice T wrote rhymes that “were our version of what a day in the life of Los Angeles was like.” They were not trying to create a new genre. They wanted to fetter their daily insanity with verse.
Liberty to Mutilate?
Earlier this month United States attorneys charged a Detroit doctor with female genital mutilation (FGM), the first prosecution of this crime since the U.S. outlawed the practice in 1996. Authorities accused Jumana Nagarwala, an emergency room doctor, of performing the procedure on 7-year-old girls whose parents transported them from Minnesota to Michigan for the controversial operation. […]
Does the OT Teach the Doctrine of Trinity?
The doctrine of the Trinity is summarized by seven basic propositions: 1. The Father is God. (Phil. 1:2, Eph. 4:6) 2. The Son is God. (Col. 2:9, Phil. 1:2) 3. The Holy Spirit is God. (2 Cor. 3:17, Acts 5:3-4) 4. The Father is not the Son. (John 10:30, Phil. 2:9) 5. The Son is […]
Why I Celebrated International Women’s Day on April 16th
This year’s celebration of International Woman’s Day was innovative. On the eighth of last month, women around the world pulled a laid-back version of self-immolation: A Day without a Woman. From strikes in Australia, marches in India, and free museum tickets in Italy (definitely my favorite), to attempts to repeal protections for the unborn in […]
Katie Couric and Secularism: Can Religion Have a Place in Lawmaking?
Recently I watched a National Geographic documentary with Katie Couric called Gender Revolution. Couric was working on this special program exploring America’s changing view of gender. Couric sat on the front porch of sixteen-year-old Gavin Grimm, a transgender high school student who has been in the national spotlight in recent months. Gavin (a woman trying […]
Stepping Off the Tram: Turkey, America, and Presidential Power
Back when he was mayor of Istanbul, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan, once famously quipped that democracy is like a tram. You ride it until you get to your destination, then you step off. Well, after Sunday’s constitutional referendum, democracy has exited the station, and Turkey is standing on the platform awaiting whatever comes next. […]
Are Parents Ready for Vouchers?
Betsy DeVos is known for her support of “the voucher system” for public education (Nazaryan 2017, 39; Disare 2017, 49). In this system, parents are given a certain amount of voucher money for child tuition which can be used at the school of their choice, regardless of that school’s beliefs and affiliations. This would potentially […]
Why Trump’s Airstrike in Syria Was Unbiblical
CNN reported on April 7th, 2017, that “The United States launched a military strike Thursday on a Syrian government airbase in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians earlier in the week. On President Donald Trump’s orders, US warships launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the airbase that was home to […]
Separation of Church and State in the Old Testament
The separation of church and state is a hot topic these days. As Christians, our response should always be to ask, “What does the Bible say?” regardless of what the conservatives or liberals may say about any particular topic. Christians should be political, but not partisan, in this sense. (This does not mean Christians cannot […]
Why Using the Hashtag #notmypresident Is Unbiblical
About a month ago CNN reported that across the country there have been several “Not My President” rallies, protesting the Presidency of Donald Trump. Probably most people have seen the hashtag #notmypresident running around. Interestingly, the article says, “In addition, merchants sold T-shirts reading ‘Not My President’ above smaller text reading ‘Elected but not chosen.’” […]