In the December 2023 issue of Ligonier’s Tabletalk devotional, Gene Edward Veith has a helpful article titled “Catechized by Culture.” Presbyterians are big on catechisms. They mostly deal with fundamental biblical doctrines. For example, the first question of the Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Standards is “What is the chief end of man?” Vieth supplies the answer: “Man’s chief end is to glo [...]
Gary discusses the announcement of the MLB All-Star coming to Atlanta (again) in 2025 and the ballot discrepancies in Fulton County. God has established a bottom-up system of multiple hierarchies: family, church, and State (civil governments). This means that we must always be obedient where obedience is required by God’s law. The appeals court system of Exodus 18:17–27 is a good guide: we are fre [...]
Gary answers a listener question about the history of the “Rapture” and the vision in 1830 of a young girl named Margaret MacDonald. Why is it that not a single sermon, address, or discussion in the book of Acts mentions the supposed rapture of the Church? Over a period of nearly 40 years, no one brings up this supposedly crucial prophetic event. There is no mention of an any-moment “r [...]
Does the number 666 refer to someone in John’s day? If so, who could it be? Revelation implies that there was a king who was alive when John saw and wrote down what was revealed to him: “Here is the mind which has wisdom.[1] The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,[2] and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must rema [...]
Gary discusses a Canadian powerlifter who has been suspended from competition for protesting men being allowed to compete in women’s categories. There are many worldviews around today, and the postmodernist believes that it is his responsibility to critique each one. Worldviews must be “flattened out,” so that no one particular approach or belief is more “true” than any other. What constitut [...]
Most of us have heard of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), a film about a naïve Senator who ends up taking on the political establishment. It’s a reminder that there’s nothing new under the political sun. It stars Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur and was directed by Frank Capra who also directed Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s one of AMC’s Top 100 films. It was not popular with the politica [...]
Gary discusses the recent vote in Ohio and the typical diversionary tactics that went on with the wording of the referendum. Laws against theft and murder are legislated, and they reflect some moral code. There are few people who would object to laws being made that would punish thieves and murderers. And yet, such laws impose a moral system on all of us. Although thieves and murderers might objec [...]
Gary continues responding to Pastor David Jeremiah’s interview and book, The Great Disappearance. All of the texts used to support the rapture theory presuppose the validity of the theory, a theory that does not have a single text to support it. The doctrine has been constructed before texts have been evaluated. This unsound approach to Bible interpretation has done little to dissuade the ad [...]
For many centuries, it’s been the belief of the church that the world is waiting for a wholesale conversion of Israel that will transform the world. You can find this view in the Westminster Larger Catechism, Question and Answer 191. Romans 11:15 is often interpreted this way: “For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” Not all [...]
Democrats have frequently turned to Jesus and the Bible to support their causes. They campaign in Black churches. They love religious voters who vote for abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and governmental tyranny masquerading as “social justice.” How many times have we heard how the Christmas story is about immigration or how socialism is supported by the Bible? When Hillary Clinton was [...]
Gary responds to a recent interview between Glenn Beck and Max Lucado about the state of the world and the war between Israel and Hamas where Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 are brought up. When Russia invaded Ukraine, we were told that the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 was being fulfilled. When Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza, again the Gog and Magog war was being fulfilled. For nearly 1600 y [...]
Gary discusses several recent articles about the new Speaker of the House and how he claims that the “Bible is his standard.” All talk about human rights comes from those nations that have had a Christian base. The most familiar philosophy of human rights is found in the Declaration of Independence (1776). “All men,” it states, “are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rig [...]
Any time the liberal media want to disparage the right side of the political spectrum, they call on a pool of go-to guys and gals to make their case for them. It’s not news reporting; it’s ideological position marketing. One of those groups is the hard-left and anti-Christian Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC is in the money raising business for every known and unknown left-wing cause. I [...]
Gary discusses the historical conditions and motivations behind The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States. When B.F. Morris began work on his book, American Christians were retreating from Bible-based involvement in social action, education, intellectual pursuits, the shaping of culture, and political thought and action. Many in the old “main-line” Protestant [...]
“When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.” In Maine, another rampaging murderer entered a ‘Gun-Free Zone’ and did what evil people do. They don’t care about laws; that’s why they murder people! ‘Gun-Free Zones’ are an open invitation to crazy people and those with deep-seeded grudges. The Left’s solution? Take defensive weapons away from everyone! Those living on the border with Gaza [...]
The Christian’s view of the future determines how he lives, plans, and works in the present for the future. Even during Israel’s captivity under Babylonian rule, the nation’s darkest hour, the people were told to plan and build for the future: “Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens, and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your s [...]
Gary responds to a recent article by Dr. Michael Brown that claims the promises made to Israel in Joshua 21 are not the fullness of what God was promising to the Jews. There is not a single verse in the New Testament that supports the claim that there is prophetic significance in Israel’s restoration as a nation. Beyond A.D. 70, Israel as a nation plays no prophetic role. The New Testament only ad [...]
Over time, the Pledge of Allegiance has changed. The original Pledge read as “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” The word “to” was added before “the Republic” in October for the public recitation. This is the only difference from the original published version. “My flag” was changed to “the flag” in 1924 [...]
Gary interviews author and screenwriter Brian Godawa about his short film and now full-length novel, Cruel Logic. I’m no longer shocked by what I read in the news these days. What would have turned people’s stomachs 30 or 40 years ago, now are met with a dismissive “Whatever.” The latest once-thought-to- be moral atrocity has to do with “zoophilia” (from the Greek zōion, meaning “animal,” from wh [...]
“Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security concludes the Gog battle is a ‘realistic scenario,’” a recent article from WND reports. “The study forecasts the toll of a massive nuclear war.” Christian prophecy writers have been making similar claims for decades. Are they right? Before we get into the meat of the controversy, it should be noted that in the premillennial and dispens [...]
