In an abusive relationship, the only thing that matters to the abuser is the present. And by the “present,” I mean the pressure that is being applied in the present, toward whatever ends the abuser currently desires. Greed and self-centered demand are completely oriented to the present. Out of the picture are promises and obligations …
Political Reform Closer to Home
My standing joke is that we ought not to allow chaplains to pray in Congress, because the Bible says that we are not supposed to turn a den of thieves into a house of prayer. And make no mistake — Congress is a den of thieves. Now Scripture gives the civil government the authority to …
The Pin Doesn’t Have to Be Big
A former student wrote me about my “ten-point theology of resistance” to Obamascare and, boiled down, the question had to do with how all this relates to what we have taught here in Moscow for years about the centrality of worship. There are some related questions, but they all revolve around that one. Since I …
Little Strips of Naugahyde
As I have been watching the brazen moves of Obama and those who are his codependents, I have realized something about his Christian cheerleaders, not to mention something about those who want to say “these power grabs are really nothing to get worked up about.” They want to be “above it all.” I refer here …
Obamacare: A Brief Ten-Point Theology of Resistance
1. Active resistance to tyranny, and to this tyranny in particular, is not just permissible for Christians. It is mandatory. 2. The question is therefore what form the resistance should take, and not whether there should be resistance. 3. The theological basis for this resistance is that Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not. Jesus …
All Jakesy Jukesy
The national debt apportions out to each citizen at about 40K apiece. This would not be counting any off-ledger shenanighans, whose name is no doubt Legion, and it is not counting the bender that the president yesterday signed into what passes for law these days. It was good that no Republican voted for the health …
Obamacare and Seven Layers of Failure
Some might believe that it is premature to pronounce Obamacare a failure, since the president is only going to be signing it today. Why, some might wonder, shouldn’t we give it a chance? There is no need to give it a chance — it has already failed in seven significant ways. First, the Bible says …
If the Opposite of Con is Pro, What’s the Opposite of Congress?
As I have already noted, God is still in His Heaven, and things are still all right in the world. Our God in in the heavens, and He does whatever He pleases. God draws straight with crooked lines, and the sun will still come up tomorrow. That said, I cannot let this teachable moment pass …
Why Things Will be Okay if Health Care Passes
Now it should be kept in mind that I am writing this brief note as a high Calvinist, one who believes that, at the ultimate level, things are always okay. God is always on the throne. But this particular song is not being written in that key. I am considering why things will be okay …
Sharkey for President
At the glorious close of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the war-weathered hobbits come back to the Shire, and find that it needed a scouring. “All right, all right!” said Sam. “That’s quite enough. I don’t want to hear no more. No welcome, no beer, no smoke, and a lot of rules and orc-talk …