The Sower and the land
Of all the parables of Jesus, one of the most important, interesting, and of course one of my favorites, is the Parable of the Sower. In my opinion, it should be foundational for thinking about …
Culture
Christian Democrat: Free stuff you didn’t pay for…the heart of the Gospel
The great, and at times frustrating, thing about my Facebook wall is the diversity of my friends and their willingness to engage in discussion. I have conservative Tea Party friends, Socialist friends, Christian friends, Atheist …
Horrors of the hive mind
I recently enjoyed the opportunity to contribute a chapter to a collection of essays reflecting on the influence of media during the Trump presidency. American Television During a Television Presidency was edited by Dr. Karen …
Considering the Idea of a Biblical Worldview
The concept of a Christian worldview is fundamentally simple, but its implications are profound. There are a modest number of foundational assumptions necessary to view the world from a Christian perspective. Beyond that the task …
I am still writing my obituary
I write obituaries for a living. Well, only technically. It’s more honest to say that I edit obituaries as one of my job duties. In the free newspaper obituary business, there’s very little writing; it’s …
The Costly Wars on History: Censorship and Books
Book burning and censorship campaigns seemed a relic of the past in the rural middle-class world where I grew up. We vigorously attacked the censorship of the repressive Soviet Union and insisted that Americans stood …
Loving “The Donald”
I first wrote this reflection in 2015 and was concerned then about the evangelical embrace of hateful ideologies and rhetoric. Sadly, that embrace has only grown stronger. I am proud to see old essays like …
A Christian Democrat? Here’s Why… You Can Vote Democratic
I have seen a couple of interesting posts on this subject on Facebook. One was an article entitled “Christian Democrat?” on In All Things. The website is a Dordt College project, so the article has a very reformed leaning. …
In their words: Yes, the Civil War was especially about slavery
Somehow, the causes of the Civil War are back in the political discourse. Presidential candidate and former governor Nikki Haley, who at one time made news for taking down the Confederate flag in her state, …
Great power, great responsibility, and a way home
Spider-Man rose like the Phoenix from the pages of a dying comic, Amazing Adult Fantasy, which ran as an anthology published by Marvel Comics in 1961 and 1962. As the series neared its run in …