Given the opportunity, I would have asked Simone de Beauvoir many questions, the first being: Did you ever stop to consider that your Roman Catholic upbringing might have negatively influenced your reading of Genesis, and other books of the Bible? The second question (depending on her answer to the first): Have you ever made a … Read more
None of us thinks that we are easy prey for propaganda. We all think that it’s the other gal or guy, the one that hasn’t read as much as us or that we’re just not that dumb to swallow a half-truth, let alone a full-blown lie. But I’m afraid it’s just this attitude that the … Read more
Currently reading: Subverted: How I Helped the Sexual Revolution Hijack the Women’s Movement by Sue Ellen Browder. Because there’s always a hidden side of any revolution in thought, or otherwise… From the front: The chains that bind [a woman] in her trap are chains in her own mind and spirit. They are chains made up … Read more
How many needed truths has the world lost to the delete button? We will never know. But perhaps this author should have used the delete button a few more times. Less is always more. And if you can get it done with nine lines of code, no need to write ten. But let me not … Read more
Before picking up Jaron Lanier’s book, I’d listened to several of his talks on the subject of social media’s ongoing damage to individuals and society. I was quickly convinced that the reasons for his urgency to pull the plug on the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were right on. And while a few months … Read more
French Rulers: Que Dire ? France is deep into its Fifth Republic. So far, it’s lasted fifty-eight years and eight presidents. Not bad for a country with more than 1,600 different cheeses. But how long will the Fifth Republic last? With the scandals and twists and turns of France’s current presidential race, some are wondering within the country … Read more
Dietrich Bonhoeffer made mistakes, but he understood the value of grace and repentance. When Hitler began to demand allegiance from pastors in Germany, Bonhoeffer fled to the United States. Not long after his arrival, he realized his wrong decision and returned to Germany to participate in efforts to overthrow the evils of Nazism. Six years later, Bonhoeffer was … Read more
Karl Marx called religion the opium of the masses. The belief that Jesus would return again and right all wrongs has helped many Christians throughout the centuries to endure oppression and unjust treatment. Marx thought such beliefs, such illusions about the future to be an impediment to political and economic progress. While people remained high … Read more
Most people will not change until they stand to lose something. This is not the Christian ethic. The Christian, just like Jesus, is willing to lose that others might gain. Martin Luther King, Jr. was willing to lose that others might gain. Like his namesake, the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, King took on a powerful system … Read more
Same-sex marriage. The three-word combination that was once only a dream for the homosexual community is now a legal reality in the United States. But, what is a Bible-believing Christian to think and/or do about all this? Just “love, love, love,” as the Beatles sang? Yes, love—that’s all we need. It is how God made … Read more