A Prayer on the Fourth of July
Our Heavenly Father, On this July Fourth we give thanks that in your good providence you established us as a nation. Down through the centuries you have poured out blessings on us—blessings that we did not deserve, but for which we are profoundly grateful. Among these blessings is the wisdom and foresight you gave to […]
Marxism is Boring: The Hyper-Politicization of Public Art
Everyone has to have an overarching story. A mythos that holds what they see and hear together. When I lived in California, I did evangelism on Wednesdays. I hoped to do it other days as well, but Wednesdays I did my sermon prep at the neighborhood park. I introduced myself to people and invited folks to […]
When the State Decides Who Lives and Dies
News broke on Tuesday that a young boy in Britain would be denied access to further healthcare in the United States. Charlie Gard, a ten-month-old boy from London, was born last August with an incredibly rare genetic condition called infantile onset encephalomyopathy mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, or MDDS. At first, Charlie seemed completely normal; he […]
A Black Man Dead, A Cop Acquitted. The NRA? Silent.
This is the nadir of the Black Lives Matter movement; this the moment where it fizzles and dies, where it throws up its hands in exasperation and stops protesting, or when it becomes something altogether more sinister. It will be a battle within the movement, between ennui and anger. I do not support many of the aims and goals of the Black Lives Matter movement–in fact I think this movement fighting racism can be racist itself. But it doesn’t take much of a prophet to say that the more bad cops get acquitted, the more sway Black Lives Matter will have over the narrative on race in this country. That’s not a good thing.
Open Wide Your Hand: 4 Questions Regarding Social Welfare
Georgia’s food stamp program provides an interesting case study for thinking about the current debate surrounding social welfare. In good fiscal news Georgia has seen a sixteen percent drop in food stamp usage over the last four years, saving tens of millions of dollars each month for taxpayers. As the economy continues to strengthen and […]
Educating for Ignorance
Schools of all types desire an interdisciplinary education. Secular education strives for it, and liberal arts assumes to be the master of it (Newell, 2007; Edutopia Team, 2008). In order to be truly interdisciplinary, subjects must be united around a central theme or pedagogical goal. Most schools face a continual struggle to integrate topics across […]
The Tree of Life
Well, it’s summer. It’s time for the beach towels, sunblock, the nearest pool, and, yes, good movies. Who doesn’t love a late night movie with some great friends? Good movies, though, are harder to find than the nearest swimming hole. What do I mean by a good movie? A good movie is one whose […]
Why Justice Should Be Blind
“Believe in equal pay for equal work? Put your money where your mouth is.” So reads the website of the most comically unfair product I’ve ever seen. I first ran across the EquiTable app about six months ago. At first, I thought that their advertisement video was a Saturday Night Live skit; surely no one […]
Intersectionality Is a Big Word; Basically, It Means Weaponized Feminism
First, there was marginalization of people of color, then there was maximalization, to add people of color where they should have been in the first place. If that sounds wrong, it if sounds like three big steps in the wrong direction, I completely agree. If one race, class, or gender has been treated unequally, the solution is to treat every race, class, and gender equally. If you instead privilege one previously maltreated group, you are perpetuating the problem.
The Burden of Proof
In our culture we are constantly required to give in to the claims of Science. The phrase “Science has proven” is the Q.E.D. of modern debate. Moderns scoff at the idea of God being on their side, yet easily swallow the notion that Science is on their side. This year the March for Science and […]
The Sweet and Shrewd Courage of a High School Graduation Speech
Graduating senior Moriah Bridges was chosen by her class president to provide the closing exercise at Beaver High School’s June 2nd graduation ceremony in Beaver, Pennsylvania. Bridges, a Christian, included a prayer in her remarks, but the Beaver School District forced her to edit her speech due to religious language such as “Heavenly Father” and […]
What Americans Can Learn from Canada
Stephen Harper served as Prime Minister of Canada for nine years. While few would say that Trump and Harper are similar leaders, there are some things that we can learn from the genesis of the former Canadian Prime Minister that tell us about the current American situation, and why Trump’s legacy will last for so […]
Rob Bell’s “What is the Bible?” Part 3
In chapter one, “Moses and His Moisture,” Bell sets a precedent for how he argues in for the rest of the book. The two biggest problems he has are that, with a single exception in the whole book, he does not provide any citation for obscure cultural or linguistic facts he refers to, and he […]
Every State Wants to Get Stoned
Economic growth is welcome news for politicians but not enough to get them to champion a controversial bill that many moralistic constituents would oppose. There is yet another green leafy substance that makes them drool…By making pot legal, not only are state governments able to collect tax revenue but they are able to jack up tax rates astronomically.
Theresa May’s Failed Gamble: The UK Election and the Limits of Democracy
After the election on June 8, millions of Britons woke up and scratched their heads. Though it was the third exhausting nationwide vote in three years, with millions of new voters casting their ballots for the first time, the result was…inconclusive. Theresa May endured a stunning, almost regime-ending setback. Or did she? Jeremy Corbyn is […]
Courage & Blood Money: A Proposal toward the Abolition of Abortion
“The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light” (Lk. 16:8). Modern conservative Christians are cowards. We are cowards by many different measurements, but one will suffice. We have almost entirely lost a culture war in which we had the greater numbers, greater resources, […]
Bernie Sanders and the Battle of the Gods
Last week Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders transformed a rather mundane confirmation hearing for the deputy director for the Office of Management and Budget into high political theater, pronouncing the nominee unfit for office due to his religious beliefs. Sanders highlighted a couple of sentences from an article Vought published last year at The Resurgent, in […]
Education as Worship: It’s Not Classical, It’s Christian
Classical education has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in both Christian and secular schools. The Association of Classical Christian Schools is just over 20 years old and has members around the world. Secular educators have noted the success of the classical method, and now classical charter schools are popping up all over the country. The […]
Rolling With a New America
We all know America is changing… Over Christmas break I took my W.A.S.P (white anglo-saxon protestant) blond children to the local outlet mall in the east bay area of northern California. Besides my children, I think we counted about three blond heads in a room of about 300 people. This is in an area of […]
Bill Maher and the Impotence of the Tiny Heart-Obama
I make my children practice telling jokes at dinner. If I can help it, none of my progeny will have bad comedic timing. The girl that married me, lo so many zodiacal rotations ago, hoped to be a comedian when she grew up. The same skills, it turns out, apply to motherhood. (She has a […]