The September 11, 2006 issue of Newsweek carried a news item in the “Beliefwatch” section on the candidacy of Katherine Harris and the topic of the “separation of church and state.”[1] The article begins by stating “that Katherine Harris recently told a religious journal that separation of church and state was ‘a lie,’ . . . that the idea of separation of church and state was concocted by 20th-cen [...]
You’ve read the screeds that have been written to warn middle America about the dangers of fundamentalist Christians and their involvement in politics and their continued fight against the “science” of evolution. A small but vocal group of atheists say that all this must stop. Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith which has sold 270,000 since its publication after the events of 9/11, equates reli [...]
About ten years ago I wrote an article on the topic of Sola Scriptura. It was a response to former Protestants Scott and Kimberly Hahn’s book Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism.[1] Since then, the article has made its way around the internet. It was never meant to be a comprehensive study of the subject. Since I had been raised Roman Catholic, I was responding to some of the arguments rai [...]
A few days ago I received an email from Jim. He was upset with my dogmatic stance on the need for Christians to abandon “public schools,” that is, schools run by local, state, and federal governments. I offered a number of exceptions to his points in the following article. In a later email, he did apologize for some of his statements. He even admitted that his “daughter home schools her three chil [...]
Two articles that appeared on American Vision’s website have caused quite a stir among some in the so-called Brights Movement (Putting on a “Bright” Face and A Bright Responds). Peter, “an ex-evangelical Christian,” writes to me that he is “disappointed that” I’ve been “less than honest and objective about this subject. Do you think that really honours your God?,” he asks. He goes on t [...]
In the Empire Strikes Back, “Episode V,” in the six-part Star Wars saga, viewers are introduced to the Cloud City of Bespin and its ruler Lando Calrissian. Cloud City was a man-made satellite community that hovered in the midst of valuable gas reserves. The image of a city floating in the midst of clouds reminds me of the United States Constitution. Without acknowledging an outside authority—a hig [...]
Adolf Hitler “Nazified” Germany, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is about to “homosexualize” California. Extreme language? I don’t think so. The governor signed a bill that would require all schools, churches, businesses, and any group receiving state funding with no exception for faith-based organizations or business owners with sincerely held religious convictions—even if it’s a state grant for a stud [...]
The blame game will continue as politicians and political action groups jockey for position and funding for the upcoming elections in 2006 and 2008. Acts of heroism, self-sacrifice, and just plain hard work will be rightly honored. Religious organizations will gain new respect from the people being ministered to in both body and spirit. New Orleans and the Gulf Coast will probably be rebuilt after [...]
The talk from both ends of the political spectrum is that “democracy” will cure the ills of Iraq, Iran, and the surrounding Muslim nations. What if the “liberated” people of Iraq, with their newly acquired right to vote, decide that they want a Taliban-style social and political system whose goal is to defeat the infidel West and impose Sharia law on all Muslims? Democracy in the hands of wild-eye [...]
Rome saw the connection between religion and the social order, and Christianity posed a threat to the old-time Roman religion because it did not make politics the sole agent of change. Israel’s past, however, was replete with visions of political salvation. Early in her history, God allowed Israel to experience what it would be like in a wholesale rejection of Jehovah (1 Sam. 8). The people were u [...]
Two opinions vie for our attention in current Christian thinking regarding the legitimacy of social involvement and kingdom demonstration this side of heaven.[1] The escapist view proposes that gospel proclamation is the church’s singular duty and no more. Concern for this world is a distraction. Heaven, and heaven alone, is the Christian’s calling and sole domain. The Christian’s citizenship is o [...]
The Christian is assured of the future. He does not have to concern himself with eschatological speculations. The “times and epochs” are God’s business (Acts 1:7). They are set by His sovereign will. There is no need to speculate on what is next on God’s prophetic timetable or despair and capitulate to evil when considering present circumstances. For whatever the future holds, we know that God hol [...]
Is it possible to change a society? Has there ever been a time in history when progress could be measured against the spiritual and cultural decay of a previous era? When the church suffers a setback after a period of progress, is this a sign of the end, or does the possibility exist that God will graciously redeem and restore His people? What has the church’s position been toward social reform? [...]
A letter to the editor that appeared in the August 18, 2006 issue of USA Today begins with, “I don’t care how any god stands on abortion, as I don’t believe in any god.” The strident confession was in response to the article “Where does God stand on abortion?” that appeared in the August 14th issue. In an attempt to distance herself from faith, she must adopt another faith. “I don’t believe in any [...]
Ours is an era when myths, legends, and conspiracies abound. Much of the dubious credit for this phenomenon is probably the result of the ever-present Internet. Mythological concoctions travel at the speed of light and find their way to open email inboxes where unsuspecting and gullible readers embrace them as the gospel truth. Alex Boese, author of The Museum of Hoaxes, writes that “Deception sur [...]
The article “Putting on a ‘Bright’ Face” by Regis Nicoll resulted in a reaction by Paul Geisert and Mynga Futrell, co-directors of “The Brights.” Here is the email American Vision received: Dear Sir/Madam Would you consider printing a rebuttal of the essay to “Putting on a ‘Bright’ Face” by Regis Nicoll? For example, the following “urban legend” needs correction: “It also suggests that [...]
Tom Ehrich, an Episcopal minister and writer living in Durham, North Carolina, claims that the religious debate on the subject of abortion “is one best captured in shades of gray rather than . . . in black and white.”[1] Ehrich asks where God stands on the issue and then only quotes Psalm 139 and Jeremiah 1:5. The Bible has a lot more to say on the subject. The Bible attributes self-consciousness [...]
On August 7, 2006, I wrote a brief introductory review of Gregory A. Boyd’s The Myth of a Christian Nation. I pointed out that Boyd was dependant on Richard T. Hughes’ Myths America Lives By for many of his historical arguments. At the time, I did not have a copy of Hughes’ book, but I suspected that his “Myth of a Christian Nation” chapter did not include much real history to make his case. [...]
No one can escape the advocacy of right and wrong. It’s an inescapable concept. Some will call good evil and evil good (Isa. 5:20), but there is no way to hide from the inevitability of proposing that some things are good and other things are bad even if we disagree on what those things are. Others will claim to be moral relativists, but in practice they do believe in moral absolutes, especially w [...]
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 [...]
