We saw in yesterday’s article that modern-day illusionists are trying to demonstrate that Jesus could have been a very good magician and not a worker of miracles sent by God. Of course, the miracles Jesus performed hardly qualify as parlor or stage magic. But what about “miracles” performed by those outside the Christian worldview? Are they really miracles or just tricks performed by well-practice [...]
The miracles of the Bible are under attack from an unusual discipline. Usually biblical miracles are called into question by liberal theologians and atheistic materialists. Now, the entertainment field is getting into the act. Illusionists Barry Jones and Stuart McLeod will attempt to see if eight New Testament miracles can be duplicated by non-miraculous means. British television will air the Chr [...]
Worldviews are comprehensive. No cultural stone is left unthrown in the battle against competing ideologies. Secularists who write their screeds against Christians who engage in politics have history on their side, and it’s not a very good history. Under Nazism, churches were “confined as far as possible to the performance of narrowly religious functions, and even within this narrow sphere were su [...]
One group of Christians is trying to keep the name “Christmas tree” while a small minority of Christians is saying good riddance to the very idea of Christmas trees because they are of pagan origin. Who’s right? Some time ago, my wife was asked by a national ministry to create a quilted backdrop of a large sweeping rainbow for its presentation booth that was used at various conventions around the [...]
Paris is burning. The disenfranchised Muslim communities are storming the Bastille of French Socialism. The principles of the French Revolution are coming home to roost. North African Muslims were lured by Europe’s promise of economic Paradise. What they got was warehousing in French ghettos where unemployment is around 30 percent. The enlightened French believed that language, food, and culture c [...]
Will America suffer the same fate as Europe and the rise of what Karen Armstrong calls “secular fundamentalism”? We seem to be headed in a similar direction with the secularization of our schools and courts. Christianity in America, like Christianity in Europe, is under attack. We see it every day. Judges are being scrutinized for their religious beliefs, especially on abortion and homosexuality. [...]
Liberal pundit Al Franken suggested to David Letterman that “[Lewis ‘Scooter’] Libby and Karl Rove are going to be executed” because they supposedly outed a CIA agent, a treasonous offense. Franken qualified his statement somewhat, possibly after considering the implications of what he had just said: “Yeah. And I don’t know how I feel about it because I’m basically against the death penalty, but t [...]
Two news stories I read yesterday (October 17, 2005) struck me as indications that the morally relativistic worldview of modern-day liberalism, materialism, and naturalism is headed for a crack up. The first story was a report that appeared on Matt Drudge’s site about Madonna who now believes that modern culture is corrupt. She describes it as “the beast.” “The material world. The physical world. [...]
Gas panic hit Atlanta on Wednesday. Prices went from $2.65 in the morning to $3.10 by mid-afternoon. Some stations were selling gas for nearly $6.00 per gallon. Some have called this “price gouging.” A rumor, factual or not, had been circulating that gas supplies were limited and new inventory was hampered because of pipeline disruptions. Uncertainty figures into economic decision making. How does [...]
American Vision must be doing something right. We have been targeted by a number of anti-Christian groups because of our stance on homosexuality. We find ourselves in the company of Focus on the Family, American Family Association, Alliance Defense Fund, Coral Ridge Ministries, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, Family Research Institute, and other pro-family groups. The Souther [...]
Representatives of the American Psychiatric Association, the nation’s top psychiatric group, approved a statement on May 22, 2005, urging legal recognition of gay marriage. These guys are nuts. Tom Minogue, who is on the medical faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a practicing psychiatrist and an APA member, sees some “disturbing trends” in psychiatry. Everything is [...]
Those nurtured on the radicalism of the 1960s have been described as the “destructive generation.” The advance of drugs into middle-class culture made its entry through the doorway of the progressive 1960s. Doses of “free love” and “free sex” were passed around as easily as a shared marijuana cigarette. “If you can’t be with the one you love, then love the one you’re with”[1] is a line from a 1960 [...]
The libertarian humorist P. J. O’Rourke says, “When you think of the good old days, think ‘dentistry.’” The greatest invention of the modern world is anesthetics. Prior to 1844, in preparation for an operation, you drank booze until you passed out–hopefully. Then the physician – “sawbones,” he was called –got started hacking away.[1] Michael Crichton, best known for The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Th [...]
A German zoo was planning to introduce male penguins into a group of female penguins because the female penguins seem to be attracted to one another. Homosexual rights groups are angry with the plan because theybelieve the zoo’s actions are trying to turn the penguins straight. Here’s the premise: Whatever animals do in nature is natural. What’s natural is normal. What’s normal is moral. So if pen [...]
“World records are being smashed by men who have been taking anabolic hormones [steroids]. Some athletes see them as a new secret weapon. . . . It’s the hottest–and quietest–argument in sports today.” A 2004 editorial about Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and breaking baseball’s cherished records with the help of a little juice, right? Wrong! This opening paragraph a [...]
On Thursday, September 24, 1789, the First House of Representatives voted to recommend—in its exact wording—the First Amendment of the newly drafted Constitution to the states for ratification. The next day, Congressman Elias Boudinot from New Jersey proposed that the House and Senate jointly request of President Washington to proclaim a day of thanksgiving for “the many signal favors of Almighty [...]
Similar counsel was given to Michael Corleone from his father in the Godfather saga. It turned out to be very good advice. It looks like Arlen Specter is going to get the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is not as bad as it seems. Specter got the behind-closed-door message that his pro-abortion obstructionist philosophy would not be tolerated. Having a bad guy as chairman can h [...]
The homosexual community is seeing red. Former President Clinton is blaming Kerry’s loss on the homosexual marriage issue. After an analysis of the vote in Pennsylvania, I’ve concluded that Bush would have won the Keystone state if Arlen Specter’s conservative primary opponent had been on the ballot. Many pro-life and anti-homosexual marriage voters did not turn out to vote becau [...]
The battle continues to rage over homosexuality. The good people of Missouri voted to ban same-sex marriage by an overwhelming majority (71% to 29%). Louisiana followed suit by an even larger margin. More than 81% of voters voted to ban same-sex marriages. These numbers are staggering and encouraging. Don’t think the battle ends with these large majorities. Homosexuals know that the courts a [...]
IN THE BUSINESS section of USA Today, a story appeared that described how businesses are returning to the inner city to set up shop.[1] The article is encouraging. Real estate is plentiful and prices are low. Many who work downtown live there as well. Of course, once these companies become successful, politicians will tax the daylights out of them. It’s these taxing policies that end up kill [...]
