…vanity of vanities; all is vanity (Ecclesiastes 1:2b).   Economic historians will be analyzing America’s early 21st century credit crisis till Jesus returns. As a veteran of the early days of these financial wars, it appears to me that the primary reason will be, “greed exceeded fear,” and the secondary reason will be a.) Misguided... Continue Reading

Mission to North America of the Presbyterian Church in America has sent an appeal for needs resulting from the damage from Hurricanes Gustav, Fay, and Ike. MNA is providing funding and arranging for teams to assist with building and repairs. The appeal provides the various contact information.   Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,  ... Continue Reading

  September 15, 2008. Lehman Brothers, the giant Wall Street firm, declares bankruptcy. Merrill Lynch, the most famous stock brokerage company in the country, avoids the risk of eventually suffering a similar fate by being euthanized (i.e., bought and absorbed) by Bank of America. The Dow falls over 500 points. And how was your Monday?... Continue Reading

It has taken me a couple of weeks but I think I’ve finally gotten handle on why Sarah Palin’s bravado Republican convention speech was such a smash among conservatives: After nearly eight years of watching President George W. Bush curl up in the fetal position each time he was savaged by the angry left, it... Continue Reading

Sarah Palin and Ronald Reagan appear poles apart in their backgrounds. Before coming to the center stage of national politics, Palin was a small-town mother of five and governor of Alaska, and Reagan, a Hollywood actor and governor of California. But these and other dramatic differences mask surprising similarities, which now appear to merge at... Continue Reading

When Pastor Rick Warren asked Barack Obama “at what point does a baby get human rights,” Sen. Obama hesitated and answered, “Well, you know, I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.”   Once upon... Continue Reading

For some time now I’ve been thinking that if I were to write a book on current trends in Reformed and Evangelical theology, it would be entitled Reinventing Liberalism.   If one were to trace the course of evangelicalism as it has stumbled along from the days of Fundamentalist/Modernist controversy and the split with the... Continue Reading

Seven years ago, Sept. 11, 2001, we all remember where we were and with whom and what we were doing. I was rushing off for my 9:25 AM class; it was my first semester as a tenure-track professor. Teaching John Donne in a class (17th Century British lit) otherwise full of obscurities has this bonus:... Continue Reading

The God we worship is the God who is; the God who has revealed himself to us in Creation, in Scripture, and supremely in Christ. One of the first things the church had to face after the age of the Apostles was, “Who is God in light of all that Christ has made known to... Continue Reading

Sept. 4 –Christian Newswire – Dismissing a suit by opponents – including the attorney general of Mexico and the president of the National Human Rights Commission – Mexico’s Supreme Court upheld a 2007 abortion law for the Federal District that includes Mexico City. Under the law (passed by the Federal District’s Legislative Assembly), the city’s... Continue Reading