The Southern Poverty Law Center, with headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama, is one of the nation’s top fund-raising organizations. Founded in 1971 by lawyers Morris Dees and Joe Levin, the SPLC describes itself as being “internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups.” From the years 2000 through 2003, SPLC [...]
IRS Commissioner Mark Everson is warning churches not to speak out on political issues. Churches who violate IRS regulations could lose their tax-exempt status and be forced to pay a ten percent excise tax on all donations. Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), led by Executive Director Barry Lynn, has been monitoring the content of Sunday sermons since 2004. If these self-appo [...]
“One of the most useful tools in the quest for power is the educational system.”[1] The implication of this statement is obvious: Whoever controls the educational system will set the goals for the nation, establish its religious values, and ultimately control the future. From Sparta and Athens to Geneva and Harvard, education has been the primary means of cultural transformation. Christian educato [...]
I was not surprised when an Associated Press article reported that more people are familiar with pop culture than the Constitution. The article states that “only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition for redress of grievances.) But more than half can name at least two members of [...]
“Politics as usual” is a familiar refrain heard during an election year. It simply means that people expect politicians to act in their own best interests and contrary to the oath they took to protect and defend the Constitution. There is nothing new in this. But because of America’s unique constitutional protections, the citizenry has an almost limitless freedom to expose and block the efforts of [...]
By the time the United States entered World War I, Theodore Roosevelt was a private citizen. Though no longer president, the nation continued to look to him for advice and wisdom. In 1917, when American troops were preparing to sail across the Atlantic for the battlefields of Europe, the New York Bible Society asked Roosevelt to inscribe a message in the pocket New Testament that each soldier woul [...]
Have you ever wondered why people don’t understand things the way you do? The facts are there for everyone to see and comprehend. So what keeps them from believing? At one level we know it’s a spiritual problem. In some cases God blinds their eyes (John 12:40) or hardens their heart (Ex. 4:21) so they will not understand (Matt. 13:13). In other cases God gives “them over to a depraved mind” (Rom. [...]
In 1960, J. B. Phillips wrote a little book with an extraordinary title—Your God is Too Small. “For many persons,” he pointed out, “the greatest stumbling block to mature faith lies in the fact that they haven’t found a God big enough for their needs—big enough to ‘account for’ life, and to command their respect and worship.”[1] What’s true of peoples’ perception of God is also true about their pe [...]
Without a proper understanding of the State’s purpose and function, the citizenry can be trapped into believing that the State ought to promote policies beyond its legitimate role and authority. This can lead to the people turning to the State for protection and security. For example, Adolf Hitler studied the policies of Otto Von Bismarck because Bismark understood the German citizen’s state of mi [...]
Some of the emails I received last week are real gems. The homosexual network has gone into overdrive to slam any public figure that does not approve of homosexuality. I’m one of their main targets. Newsweek magazine called to interview me. I can’t wait to see how my words will be twisted. My wife tells me to quit granting interviews. Some interviews I do turn down. Somebody has to tell the truth [...]
A brochure published by officials of the state Supreme Court of Pennsylvania shows a blurred depiction of a mural depicting the Ten Commandments which included the following words: “The Decalogue—Hebrew Idea of Revealed Law.” One photograph shows state Supreme Court justices at the bench in the courtroom with the blurred image of the mural behind them. Elsewhere in the brochure the mural is printe [...]
For years I have been collecting articles on genetic explanations for various abnormalities. Some are behavior related (eating too much), and some are disease related (prostate and breast cancer). In each case, however, the genetic cause is viewed as undesirable. Extraordinary measures and funding are recommended to fix the flaws. When scientists say they had discovered a “fat gene,” “the finding [...]
Can you believe the reaction of the press over the hunting accident Vice President Cheney was involved in? The media are outraged that they weren’t called immediately after Mr. Harry Whittington was accidentally peppered with bird shot. One reporter asked White House Spokesman Scott McClellan if Mr. Cheney was going to resign because of the shooting. Another wanted to know if the “accident was a c [...]
Living in the twenty-first century, we often take what we know and use for granted. The light bulb was developed in 1879, and today lasers (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) are used for everything from guiding bombs to performing delicate eye surgery. The first airplane flew in 1903, and we landed men on the moon in 1969. The first computer filled an 1800 square foot room a [...]
Not long ago, I received an email from a woman who asked me if I could direct her to some information that refutes Gnosticism. She said that she has “friend who claims to be on an extraordinarily intense spiritual ‘pilgrimage’ of ‘really pressing in to know God intimately’—but this guy has in effect divorced himself from the material world and from all relationships (including his wife and 10 chil [...]
Nikita Khrushchev described a period in the Soviet Union’s history when petty theft was a problem, especially in the government-owned plants. Guards were placed at the factory entrances to scrutinize the laborers as they entered and departed. At the Leningrad timberworks, one of the guards spotted Pyotr Petrovich leaving the yard with a wheelbarrow filled with a bulky sack. With the notice of thie [...]
The Anti-Defamation League is at it again, rewriting history in an attempt to secularize America. The latest fight is over using “Jesus Christ” during a prayer at government meetings in Wellington, Florida. The ADL claims that such prayers are “unconstitutional.” I’m going to assume that “unconstitutional” means contrary to the United States Constitution. The Constitution of the United States decl [...]
The agenda-driven Washington Post thought it was necessary to devote the front page of its Style section to John Danforth. The story headline read “‘St. Jack’ and the Bullies in the Pulpit” and included this opening line: “Jack Danforth wishes the Republican right would step down from its pulpit.”[1] Why would the very liberal Washington Post spill so much printer’s ink on a Republican Episcopal p [...]
For the past two months, American Vision has been trying to find someone from the dispensational position to debate the following topic: “The Olivet Discourse: Future or Fulfilled?” Some of the people we contacted had legitimate reasons for not being able to participate. Most did not. Thomas Ice, who I have debated eight times in the past 15 years, is almost always ready to debate. For this, he de [...]
“The story you are about to hear is true; the names have been changed to protect the innocent.” So began the prologue to the popular television series “Dragnet” (1952–1959), starring Jack Webb as Joe Friday who often used the phrase “All we want are the facts, ma’am” when questioning women in the course of a police investigation. But are the facts always enough when dealing with issues related to [...]
