Yesterday I finished The Overton Window by Glenn Beck, the only Beck book I have read. This is what I posted at my Goodreads account about it. “I picked this one up in an airport on a whim. I had been hearing people froth about it, and wanted to see if it was as bad …
Advisor to the Tamarack and White Pine
Jim Wallis recently offered the opening salvo of an invitation to discuss exactly how “Christian” the Tea Party movement is. I would like to briefly engage with his five points here, but not in the hope that we will wind up with an actual discussion. He, after all, is an advisor to the president, while …
The Kettle Drummer in the Back
The flotilla fiasco, as it is now being called, provides us with a textbook case of how nations get themselves into wars. The run-up to wars is frequently not a matter of clearly defined and contrary objectives from two hostile powers, but rather a muddled, tangled mess. Nations usually don’t march quick-step to war, but …
Peace Activist Discovering the Attractions of War
Beck and Mohler
Justin Taylor recently mentioned Peter Lillback’s appearance on Glenn Beck, and also in that same post linked to Al Mohler’s discussion of Beck’s dissing of “social justice” a few weeks back. I read Mohler’s article with interest and appreciation, and I agreed with everything he said about what the Bible says about justice. But I …
Spooky Almost
The other night Rand Paul was chosen to be the Republican candidate for the Senate in Kentucky, and how long did it take for charges of racism to surface? What? Thirty seconds? This was all on the basis of Paul’s opposition to certain portions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. And since the lighting here …
The Greedy Gusses at OilCo
When dealing with large numbers, we shouldn’t want to assume that every math error is indicative of deep spiritual problems. That is a good way to escalate policy debates into fundamental religious conflicts. At the same time, when the same error is committed over and over again, when the mistake is pointed out by responsible …
Defunding the Idolstate
The secularist does not believe that God occupies any space above human society. And because it is obvious that there is room above human society, the secularist state aspires to get into that room. To modify the words of Augustine, or Pacal maybe, there is a God-shaped vacuum above the king. Once we decide that …
An Insurrection Rather
For those who like to read political tea leaves, the next place to look is Arizona. I am not talking about the turmoil concerning their immigration law, but rather the primary contest between McCain and Hayworth. I have said before that I think we are in the early stages of a tax revolt, and each …
A New Perspective on (Ron) Paul
One of the great problems that is created by abdication by political leaders is that it unleashes forces it cannot control. When this starts to happen, the leaders (who have been grossly irresponsible) start lecturing the forces they have created on their duty to “be responsible.” That is, as they say, the icing on the …