Rachel Marie Stone wrote an article for Christianity Today urging us to “reconsider” Margaret Sanger. The point was that while Sanger was emphatic about the personal and social good that comes from freely available contraception — contraception that was under the control of women — she was also opposed to abortion. I learned about this …
The Face of Jesus Christ
We honestly have very little idea what Jesus Christ looked like. We worship Him as the visible image of the invisible Father, and yet we do not know what that visible image looks like. What kind of visible image is that? We know what the paintings of Him look like, and they generally all have …
Like a Muddied Spring
Some questions have arisen in the course of my recent posts on the responsibility of Christian leaders to know where the central evil in our day resides. In a recent exchange, I said there are many, many bad Republicans, and no good Democrats. I should have made clear in saying this that I was talking …
Controversy Library
My Controversies . . . As Seen in Lefty News Outlets Everywhere!: And brought to you by NBC, The New York Times, Slate, Vice, The Guardian, The New Yorker, and other assorted and sundry rags. From ...
Book of the Month/April 2013
Sorry about the price, but I am picking this book as my book of the month anyhow. Get your mom to buy it for you. Ask your librarian to stock it. Save up for it. Update on the price: The University of Missouri Press is having a sale through April, which means you can get …
A Sermon to the Governor and Legislature of Idaho
Introduction:It may seem unusual to preach a sermon to someone who is not present, and this would be odd if the church were contained and enclosed by her four walls. But Scripture teaches that the church is a city on a hill, with the whole world invited to look on, and that there are times …
Celebrating Christmas Like a Puritan
INTRODUCTION:Socrates once famously said that the unexamined life is not worth living. In a similar vein, the unexamined holiday is not worth celebrating. Whenever we do anything on autopilot, it is not surprising that at some point we forget where we are going, or what we were supposed to be doing. And when we are …
Sweet Defiance
Why sweet defiance? In Psalm 119:23, we are told, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” Now these are wonderful words in every believing ear. We could do some nice graphics work with it, no doubt — along with a picture of a beautiful sunset and beach, have …
Lungs Full of Mountain Air
Living in community means that the very nature of the case requires that we submit to demands from outside our selves. These demands encompass every aspect of our lives, and this means that our use of money is included. No man is an island, as Donne put it, and so we don’t have the right …
Justice Java
William Cavanaugh’s second chapter of Being Consumed, on attachment and detachment, was — with the exception of a page or two — simply outstanding. His critique of consumerism contained some standard elements (but still driven home effectively), as well as some unique insights. For an example of the former, he points out how much contemporary …