I watched “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” from beginning to tortuous end. The first obvious conclusion any critical thinking viewer comes away with is that the tomb that held the ossuaries was not hidden away to conceal anything. The entrance was constructed in such a way that it invited visitors. If the tomb actually held the bones of Jesus, then why did His immediate disciples preach in His name and di [...]

James Cameron is best known for movie blockbusters like Terminator and Titanic. But lately he’s been putting his influence behind taking pot shots at the Bible. He first went after the Exodus miracles. The 90-minute documentary “The Exodus Decoded”[1] that was shown on the History Channel sank without a trace. While the TV special actually supports much of the biblical record regarding the Exodus [...]

I received an email from a “library specialist” who responded to the following statement made by me: “Theocracy is an inescapable concept. The rejection of one theocratic government leads to the choice of another theocratic government.” She offered the following objection: The above statement is not true. There are other forms of dictatorship or autocracy that have nothing to do with God or with b [...]

Liberal U.S. Senator Charles Schumer says the Republican Party is “controlled by two interest groups that don’t represent America”: theocrats and economic royalists. “I respect faith,” Schumer says. “I’m a person of faith myself… I’ve been in too many inner-city black churches, working-class Catholic parishes, rural Methodist congregations, little Jewish synagogues to not know that faith is a gift [...]

The 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown is being “acknowledged” this year. I don’t say celebrated, because some groups are taking the politically correct route in denouncing the settlement. One line of argument being used against the colony is that the settlers wiped out native populations through infectious diseases. It is true. Disease did take its toll. But can the settlers be blam [...]

Michael Ruse, Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University, devotes a chapter to the subject of eschatology in his book The Evolution-Creation Struggle.[1] He believes that the interpretive methodology of dispensational premillennialism is inexorably linked to the way its advocates defend their position on creation. Ruse isn’t the first to point this out. I’ve been making the same claim for [...]

The opening line of the “Marines’ Hymn”—“From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli”—commemorates the Mexican War (1846–1848) and the war with Tripoli when Marines took Part 1n the capture of Derna on April 27, 1805. There is a new war going on, a war over history. Keith Ellison (D. Minn.), the first Muslim Congressman, told the Detroit Free Press that he used Thomas Jefferson’s two-vol [...]

With a title like The Myth of a Christian Nation, one would think that the author would have spent more time on the nuances of how the phrase “Christian Nation” is used by people like John Eidsmoe, David Barton, and other scholars in the field. If you’re going to critique a concept, it’s necessary to deal with those who make the claim and define the phrase, which I do in America’s Christian Histor [...]

Gutzon Borglum, the genius and drive behind the Mount Rushmore sculpture in the Black Hills of South Dakota, made particularly famous by Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, wanted to include an entablature to be placed alongside the presidents. It was to have been inscribed with a brief history of the United States. Without it the monument would have abo [...]

Millions of elementary school students have been taught that the first voyage of Columbus was conceived by the intrepid explorer to prove the earth was round. The story goes that the scientists and cartographers of the fifteenth century were still under the illusion that the earth was flat because that’s what the Bible taught. Religion was an impediment to scientific discovery. Columbus stood up t [...]

The facts of history are never neutral. They do not “speak for themselves.” Those who study history always give meaning to the facts they uncover. This is why it is necessary to have a standard to evaluate historical events. Without a standard, facts are simply random events with little or no significance. For the Christian, history can be explained in terms of biblical standards and God’s d [...]

Critics of “Dominionism” are claiming that adherents to this vaguely defined belief system want to reinstitute slavery. Can this be true? The slavery practiced in this country prior to 1860 was “man stealing,” better defined as “kidnapping.” Black West Africans were kidnapped, often by other Black West Africans, put on ships, brought to these shores, sold at auction, and placed in forced labor.[1] [...]

The Internet has been all abuzz with articles condemning a brand of Christian activism called “Dominionism.” Even Rush Limbaugh got into the act when he discussed the conspiratorial fear of the Left on the topic of “Dominionism” during his May 2, 2005 show. The discussion was prompted by a series of articles that appear in the May 2005 issue of Harper’s Magazine. It seems that anyone who believes [...]

Fred Clarkson, who has an almost irrational fear of Christians involved in anything other than going to church on Sunday (and even this frightens him), has written “How to Beat the Christian Right.” He reserves his salvos for D. James Kennedy’s “Reclaiming America Conference” and American Vision’s “Restore America Rally,” an event he describes as “like an ideological indoctrination seminar in Chri [...]

On September 17, 1787 the Constitutional Convention officially ended. Copies of the Constitution were sent to the state legislatures. Delegates anticipated tough battles in the states over whether or not the Constitution ought to be ratified. There was much that both proponents and opponents of the Constitution agreed upon. Power, whether in a monarchy or a republic, tended to corrupt whoever yiel [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked a judge to hold a Louisiana school board in contempt because someone said a prayer over the PA system before a high-school baseball game.[1] During the critical days with tempers flaring in the July heat, Benjamin Franklin asked to be recognized and presented this memorable speech. Directing his words to George Washington, Franklin made the following pl [...]

Here comes Peter Cottontail, Hoppin’ down the bunny trail, Hippity, hoppity, Easter’s on its way. Bringin’ every girl and boy Baskets full of Easter joy, Things to make your Easter bright and gay. I don’t know what’s worse—Veggie Tales substituting for Bible characters or the whole Easter Bunny, soft marshmallow chicks, colored eggs, and jelly bean menagerie somehow representing [...]

One of the difficulties in answering Brooke Allen’s “Our Godless Constitution,” which appeared on The Nation’s website on February 3rd, is that her sources are not footnoted.[1] There’s no way of identifying the context. Any piece of literature can be made to say anything if it’s taken out of context. The most famous, of course, is the biblical statement, “There is no god” (Ps. 14:1). In addition [...]

The Pledge of Allegiance is once again in the news. David Habecker, a council member in Estes Park, Colorado, has decided not to stand to say the Pledge because he has a problem with the addition of “under God” to the original version. As a result, there is a recall effort under way. Habecker would be on more solid ground if he had refused to say the Pledge because of its socialist ori [...]

Almost every day now, especially during the Christmas season, we’re reading stories about how anything religious is being cut out of history. Censoring Christianity from culture is not a new phenomenon. What has been going on for more than 30 years and known only by a few is finally coming to light thanks to the Internet. It’s no wonder that most young adults have little knowledge of A [...]