Children's Books as Worldview Wedges

Most children’s literature is innocuous. There’s no stated social, moral, or political worldview found in Pat the Bunny or Toes, Ears, and Nose!, but there is always an underlying worldview that gets more specific with age. This is why parents and grandparents need to be careful. Books are more than their covers and what other people say about them. For example, And Tango Makes Thre ((Cristina Car [...]

The First Church of Liberal Ideology

While there is great disdain for mixing traditional religious principles with science, politics, and morality, secularists don’t seem to have a problem mixing their own brand of religion with their ideology. “For many,” Douglas Young, a professor of political science and history, argues, “their new religion is politics, their faith is their ideology, and their church is their political party. Like [...]

The First Principle of Economics (Text)

What is the first principle of economics? Some economists will claim that it’s supply and demand, while others insist that it’s scarcity or the division of labor. The first principle of economics is “thou shalt not steal.” The word economics is derived from two Greek words: oikos, meaning “house,” and nomos, meaning “law.” Combined we get “rules or laws of the house.” Economics is ethical before i [...]

Do You Know the First Principle of Economics?

Some claim that the first rule of economics is supply and demand, others insist that it is scarcity. Neither of these answers is correct. Want to find out if you know the correct answer? Watch Vantage Point now to find out! [...]

The Berenstain Bears Get Religion

Worldview permeates everything, even children’s literature. In this episode of Vantage Point, Gary examines several children’s books and the worldviews they contain. Christian parents and grandparents should be aware of the worldview implications and take advantage of every opportunity for exercising worldview discernment. [...]

Butchering the Pledge of Allegiance

Atheist Michael Newdow has been pestering the courts to rule that the phrase “under God,” found in the Pledge of Allegiance, and “In God We Trust,” imprinted and stamped on our currency, are unconstitutional. In 2010, even the usually liberal San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Newdow’s legal challenges that the references to God are unconstitutional and infringe on his [...]

Do Conservatives Need Ayn Rand?

Shortly after Congressman Paul Ryan’s appearance at the 2011 Faith and Freedom Conference in D.C., a Bible-waving protester confronted the Chairman of the House Budget Committee and questioned him for modeling his proposed budget after “the extreme ideology of Ayn Rand rather than the basic economic justice values of the Bible.” The protestor offered Ryan a Bible and advised him to “bone up on wha [...]

Jack Van Impe: Wrong About Bible Prophecy, Right About Islam

Although Gary DeMar and Jack Van Impe have vastly different beliefs in regard to Bible prophecy, they can agree on Islam. TBN recently refused to air one of Van Impe’s programs because it criticized “chrislam”. Watch this episode of Vantage Point for more on the lunacy of trying to blend Christianity and Islam. [...]

Christian Post Publishes News Article on AV's National Prophecy Conference

The folks at the Christian Post web site have published a news article about American Vision’s National Prophecy Conference. I go to Christian Post several times a week. It’s a very good site for up-to-date news. Here’s how the article by Michelle A. Vu begins: Mainstream Christian end times theology, subscribed to by many respected evangelical leaders, is wrong, said the preside [...]

Conservatives, Give Up Ayn Rand

Many conservatives look to Ayn Rand to help determine their economic policy. Her book “Atlas Shrugged” was influential in the recent Tea Party movement. Rand’s ideologies are not consistent with her atheistic worldview and as Christians we don’t need Rand to form our economic policies. Watch this episode of Vantage Point for a more detailed examination of the writings of Ay [...]

Trying to Justify Homosexuality by an Appeal to the Bible

My article “Justifying Bad Behavior with a Mix of Good” (June 13, 2011) was an introductory response to a lengthy email I received from an advocate of homosexuality. In his email, Mr. Himes argues for the normality and morality of homosexuality on several levels. He began by arguing that homosexuals are good people and homosexual behavior does not do any harm. I pointed out that all good people, e [...]

Justifying Bad Behavior with a Mix of Good

A pro-homosexual advocate named Ed Himes sent a lengthy letter to American Vision decrying how groups like American Vision and the American Family Association (the targeted recipient) “continue to harass, degrade and demean the Gay Community on a regular basis.” He objects to Christians who “pick on a group of good people that are NOT BAD and who hurts [sic] NO-ONE.” Mr. Himes’ operating assumptio [...]

Are Gas Prices Too High?

Everyone is upset about the high gas prices we’ve been experiencing lately, resulting in a lot of oil company bashing. But are the oil companies really the bad guy in this scenario? Find out right now on Vantage Point. [...]

Political Bosses, Corrupt Politicians, and a Compliant Media

The Huffington Post, not a website that I would generally use for news, is reporting that the “Obama administration has created and staffed a new position tucked inside their communications shop for helping coordinate rapid response to unfavorable stories and fostering and improving relations with the progressive online community.” None of this should surprise us. Politicians have always tried to [...]

"That's Not in the Bible"

I just got back from American Vision’s National Prophecy Conference. If you weren’t there, you missed a great time of teaching, fellowship, and beautiful scenery at the Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina that overlooks the Blue Ridge Mountains. The speakers were first class. The amount of material covered was amazing. A good time was had by nearly all. Only two people — a couple — walk [...]

We Should Stop Persecuting Fornicators

The media has been all over Arnold Schwarzenegger for his extramarital affairs, much like the outcry over Tiger Woods and Bill Clinton’s affairs. Other sexual lifestyles such as homosexuality, bi-sexuality and the transgendered are widely accepted and even praised. Why is there this double standard? Maybe some people are born fornicators. Find out more in this episode of Vantage Point. [...]

Getting a Heterosexual's Mind Right

Lucas Jackson — “Cool Hand” Luke to film buffs — was the world’s most noted non-conformist ever to flicker on the silver screen. The movie Cool Hand Luke (1967) was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Actor (Paul Newman, who lost to Rod Steiger for In the Heat of the Night), Best Supporting Actor (George Kennedy), Best Adapted Screenplay (Donn Pearce and Frank R. Pierson), and Best Original Mu [...]

Does the First Amendment Prohibit Prayer?

It seems that every time there is a council meeting the issue of prayer comes up. A Christian prays in Jesus’ name during the meeting and the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State jump in and dub these prayers unconstitutional. What does the Constitution really say? Watch Vantage Point to find out. [...]

Before Harold Camping, there Were Hal Lindsey and Chuck Smith

Before Harold Camping, there were Chuck Smith and Hal Lindsey. Lindsey is the author of widely and wildly popular The Late Great Planet Earth (1970). Smith has been the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California, since 1965. He is a popular and well-respected Bible teacher. What many people don’t know or remember is that he set some very specific dates of his own in the 1970s. I wonder wha [...]

Why Modern-Day Prophecy Theorists are More Dangerous than Harold Camping

How is it possible that most evangelical critics of Harold Camping are more dangerous than the failed prognosticator? For the simple reason that it’s no longer May 21, 2011, and Harold Camping will be relegated to the dust bin of prophetic history, but prophecy prognosticators will continue to abound by claiming that Jesus is still coming “soon” even if we don’t know the “day and hour.” In nearly [...]