The passing of Ronald Sider in 2022 presented an opportunity for Gary to tell the sad history of Christian socialism in America. The mark of a Christian movement is its willingness to submit to the demands of Scripture. Not, mind you, merely to “principles” abstracted from their context and loaded with new content; but rather the actual, concrete, explicit statements of God’s wor [...]
Every time American Vision promotes the 1864 book The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States on Facebook, the historical know-it-alls come out of the woodwork. They spew the typical cliches. • The United States was founded as a secular nation. • Our nation’s founders were deists, and they used deistic language instead of biblical language. Long before 1776 and [...]
Gary continues his talk about teaching history and how to make it relevant and interesting. Probably the most famous product placement story is how Reeses Pieces got an advertising boost from a loveable alien. “Stephen Spielberg asked the makers of M&Ms if they would grant him permission to use their product in the 1982 film E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, but was turned down. Spielberg then turne [...]
In a talk from a few years back, Gary discusses how to teach history so that it’s relevant, memorable, and applicable. Much of what we remember sticks in our mind because of repetition. That’s how we learned to speak, read, and write. Learning to ride a bicycle, drive a car, play a musical instrument, or learn a sport came by way of repetition. We struggled when we first got on a bicycle, bu [...]
Gary discusses the claim that the end times are finally upon us because three eclipse paths are writing Hebrew letters across the United States. During World War II biblical references to falling heavenly bodies were thought to be bombs dropping on the cities of Europe. Supposedly there was even a Russian postage stamp to support the interpretation. The stamp showed apocalyptic symbols—lightning a [...]
In his final response to “eclipse fever,” Gary discusses the importance of using the Bible to interpret itself, rather than eclipse patterns and town names and a few scattered verses that seem to affirm the modern interpretation. It is because the heavenly bodies show God’s glory that we delight in looking at beautiful pictures of them in astronomy books. We live in a happy age, [...]
Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, California, stated that according to the Bible, Israel is a “prerequisite” for the End Times. He made this claim by denouncing something called “Replacement Theology” as “heresy.” Replacement Theology is said to be a false doctrine that declares that the church has replaced Israel, and that God is done with the Jews. (I’ll deal with the particulars [...]
Gary discusses the history of speculation and the baseless theories of those saying they interpret the Bible “literally.” What’s true of sun, moon, and stars, representing the nation of Israel, is also true of “the powers of the heavens [that] will be shaken.” With this type of language, “God is redrawing the map of world politics, and the familiar structures of international affairs w [...]
Gary discusses statements made by Texas state representative James Talarico, who claims to be a Christian and recently said a number of things publicly that actually pit the Bible against itself. Many Americans might be surprised to learn that the Supreme Court building has a number of depictions of the Ten Commandments and other lawgivers prominently displayed, some of which are carved in stone, [...]
In September 2021, many people went into a frenzy when the United States Postal Service announced that their mail delivery service would become permanently slower. This new phenomenon is called Pre-Parcel Anxiety. “We live in a society where we build expectations and uphold perfectionism. We want things here and now. We want efficiency and struggle with patience,” psychotherapist Owen O’Kane expla [...]
Gary concludes his talk about Christian involvement in culture and politics by summarizing several popular objections. Pastor and author John Piper uses Hebrews 13:14, 1 Peter 2:11, and Philippians 3:20 in an attempt to dispel the idea that Christians can have a lasting impact on this world. He writes that Christians “exert influence as happy, brokenhearted outsiders” who should only count on havi [...]
Gary continues his talk about worldviews and Christian involvement. During the French Revolution, Christianity was deliberately being erased by political elitists, but this did not mean that religion itself would be banished. The vacuum was filled with a new god. The French “proclaimed the goddess of Reason in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and in other churches in France… In Paris, the godd [...]
It’s been said, “eternal vigilance is the price we pay for liberty.” While Leftists and Democrats (I repeat myself) target something called Christian Nationalism (which they get to define) and how such a movement is fascist and anti-Democratic, real fascism is being implemented right under our noses. The Foundation For Freedom Online reports that a recently uncovered “Disinformation Primer” author [...]
What does cannibalism have to do with abortion? More than you might think. Michael Dowd, a minister and author of the book Thank God for Evolution!: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World, writes the following in his recently published article “Thank God for the New Atheists”: Let the story of evolution be told in ways that engender familial love and gratit [...]
Gary expands a bit on a recent article he wrote called “Christians in the Crosshairs,” about the recent exposure of Christian Nationalism. The passage and enforcement of laws keep most unrighteous people from acting out their unrighteousness because they know that painful sanctions are meted out for law breakers. This is not to say that all immorality can be curtailed by passing laws o [...]
Ray Kroc, founder of the McDonald’s fast food restaurant chain wrote the following in his book Grinding it Out: “I believe in God, family and McDonald’s—and in the office, that order is reversed. If you are running a hundred-yard dash, you aren’t thinking about God while you’re running. Not if you hope to win. Your mind is on the race. My race is McDonald’s.”[1] Kroc’s statement reminds me of the [...]
Gary brings up a recent news article about certain Democrats pitching a fit over a Christian pastor praying for “repentance for our national sins.” Jesus testified that He had “spoken openly to the world” (John 18:20). Since He had done “nothing in secret” (v. 20), Jesus asked where the witnesses were to accuse Him: “If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong” (John 18:23; cf. [...]
Gary responds to a recent statement by attorney Ben Crump about redefining crime to help cut down on the targeting of blacks for criminal activity. In 2 Timothy 3:17, Paul says that the Bible equips the Christian “for every good work.” The Bible gives us God’s opinion and direction in every area of life! The Bible is not just a book about worship. It tells a lot about worship, to be sure. [...]
Keeping people dumb and ignorant is the plan, and it’s working. Teach children about sexual fluidity but not logic, history, economics, and a nation can be transformed without ever firing a shot. No internment camps or Gulags are necessary. Cutting young people off from the past in government schools and social media makes them ripe to be propagandized with a new history. Debates aren’t allowed. I [...]
The woke Social Justice Warriors were out in full military regalia after watching a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving that originally aired in 1973. Franklin Armstrong, the only black child featured in the animated feature is sitting in a lawn chair alone on one side of the table. To the woke crowd, this is racism pure and simple because, as you know, everything is racist. I guess not having a “person of [...]
