Church, Politics, and Culture
WATCH AND LEARN
George Weigel offers us some compelling lessons from Pope John Paul about how to approach life and suffering in today's Washington Post:During the weeks of his illness, all sorts of seemingly pressing questions have been raised: Would the pope ever consider...
TRUSTING IN GOVERNMENT POWER?
Marvin Olasky posts these thoughts by Jordon Bailor regarding the disturbing trend among evangelicals to "use political power to impose external standards of morality." I think they are definitely worth a read.Christian activists need to be wary of falling...
SACRED OR MEANINGLESS
Here is an excellent column by Mark Alexader making similar points to the one I made in yesterday's post. He concludes with this quote"The measure of a society is how they treat the least of us," says Kate Adamson, a former "vegetative state"...
THE RIGHT TO KILL
There is plenty of good stuff being written about Terri Schiavo (Hugh Hewitt offers a summary of good coverage and you can check out Evangelical Outpost for some interesting discussion) so I haven't weighed in. That said, let's make one thing clear: this is not a...
PERFECT STORM
In keeping with our theme of the past few days, Gene Edward Veith argues persuasively that recent events have come together to create a perfect storm for euthanasia advancement in America.
FERMENTING HATRED BY TRYING TO STOP IT
Here is an interesting look at Britain's attempt to crack down on "religious hatred."
DEFENDING “CEREMONIAL DEISM”?
Some very interesting thoughts about the Ten Commandments case from Cal Thomas today:What puzzles me is the extent to which those who want government to endorse their faith seem ready to compromise their true beliefs in order to receive an honorable mention from the...
LIBERTY DEFENDERS OR JUST ANTI-CHRISTIAN?
A lot of issues surround the Ten Commandments case in front of the Supreme Court today and, regardless of what the ACLU would have us believe, government promotion of religion is not one of the major ones. For example, a more important issue in the case is the...
ORWELLIAN OVERTONES
Two interesting free speech articles over at Town Hall today: "Rolling back the tide of tyranny" and "Government by propaganda."
DISCUSSION STARTERS
The radio show has been generating some interesting discussion, so make sure you check that out, either by visiting the show archives page and clicking on the discussion links, or by scrolling down this page to the post that describes each week's show topics. I also...
GOD AND EUROPE
Here is an interesting article on the role of God in European affairs and how that compares to America.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH: $500,000
Bill Maher is right to be alarmed today:A new survey found that a majority of high schoolers think newspapers should not be allowed to publish without government approval. And almost one in five said that Americans should be prohibited from expressing unpopular...
CAN THE MUSLIM WORLDVIEW SUPPORT DEMOCRACY?
Gene Edward Veith isn't so sure. But then he doesn't think American secularism is up to the task either.
DEAN THE RELIGIOUS
Howard Dean started his tenure as DNC Chairman by vowing to reach out to evangelicals. However, as Tony Carnes notes in concluding his coverage of the issue, Dean may be in for a hard time.In the gathering of Hispanic Democratic leaders, Gloria Nieto, vice chair of...
EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ICE-CREAM LOVERS NEXT?
I said it on yesterday's radio show and I've written about it often in this space, but it bears repeating because the drumbeat continues (see yesterday's Washington Post, for example): homosexuality is not a civil rights issue. Being gay is not the same as being black...
Is Homosexuality a Civil Rights Issue?
February 12, 2005 Is homosexuality a civil rights issue? Is it a sin? Do all religions lead to God? Are Christians intolerant and arrogant for thinking they have the one way, the one truth? What abortion advocates really think.
“SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS – OR SCAN YOUR CHIP”
Am I the only one that finds the approval of a national chip implanted ID card very scary? As a kid we used to pity the poor people in communist countries who were constantly having to show the authorities their "papers" in order to travel or purchase...
FREEDOM TO DEBATE AND OFFEND
A couple of great op-ed articles in the LA Times today: First, Salman Rushdie argues that democracy is about the freedom to offend and be offended. He cites the British government's recent proposal of a law to ban "incitement to religious hatred" as an...
Can a good Christian vote Democrat?
The Don Johnson Show 2-5-05 Democrats are trying to woo religious voters by framing their issues in moral terms. But are topics like caring for the environment and helping the poor really on the same theological plane as homosexuality and abortion?
CAN GOOD CHRISTIANS VOTE DEMOCRAT?
This week's radio show will focus on the brewing theological battle between Republicans and Democrats. Here are some articles we will be referencing: "Democrats trying out a more soulful tone" - Time Magazine"The Jesus Question" by Rudy...
THE PROBLEM WITH THE PRAYER BREAKFAST
Paul McCain on why the Presidential prayer breakfast is not a good thing:Here we have people from all religions, including many Christians, falling all over themselves to be polite to the point of making specific belief, doctrine and commitment irrelevant. In other...
PAYBACK TIME?
Time magazine reported this week that evangelicals were due a little political payback for getting President Bush elected. Many Christians agree, but Chuck Colson isn't one of them. In this commentary, he notes that political power tends to corrupt the church:......
JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF GOD?
Here is a good counterargument to Peggy Noonan's opinion (see previous post) that Bush put too much God in the inaugural speech. The Weekly Standard's Joseph Bottum says the President was just making a strong case from natural law. I'm not so sure, but it makes...
THIS ISN’T HEAVEN
A lot of commentators I respect really like the inaugural speech, including Chuck Colson, but I have to side with the absolutely brilliant Peggy Noonan, a former presidential speechwriter and Bush supporter. She writes that the speech left her with "a bad feeling...
POLITICS, RELIGION AND FREEDOM
President Bush raised some eyebrows with his declaration that he can't imagine anyone serving in the Oval Office "without a relationship with the Lord" and this Washington Times story has some interesting observations:Abraham Foxman, national director...