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What Target’s Troubles Indicate About Politics, Markets & the Future of the American Christian Church

Until recently, the fact that a very small minority of the American population felt like they were not equals was a subject of debate but not much else. With the SCOTUS decision to legitimize same-sex marriage in 2015this all changed as sexuality was suddenly shifted from a matter of personal preference, to an orientation which required protection under the 14th Amendment. From there it has been…

Finding Freedom In The Embrace Of The Eternal

Prologue When Atlas Shrugs

 “There is a Way of Life that seems correct to Man, But the end result of it is Death.”

~ Proverbs 14:12 ~

In the early 20th century English poet William Ernest Hensley wrote the now famous poem Invictus. In the poem the narrator describes their inner strength and resolve to face and overcome all obstacles. Looking both death and God in the face the narrator declares…

Finding Freedom in the Embrace of the Eternal

Acknowledgments

It has been almost six years now since I began work on the original edition of this book and it’s been roughly two years since it was first published under the IS403 imprint. Many things have changed since then and so I felt it was time to revisit this work to make some needed revisions. Some things remain unchanged, such as the narrative structure and conversational tone; and…

Just How Messed Up Are We: Making Sense of Sin & Depravity

  As I have written of previously (cf. Can Men Be Good Without God), the questions of the origin of evil and the extent to which Man himself is evil are big questions which people have been discussing for generations.  The biggest problem that Followers of the Way of the Cross have faced with trying to make sense of these questions of Sin and Depravity, is that our experiences are inconsistent…

What do American Politics and Alice in Wonderland have in common?

As we descend further into the rabbit hole this US election year, I find myself more and more disappointed in the candidates vying for the presidency. This seems to be the year of the juvenile, with every candidate apparently convinced that the American people have so embraced the psychosis of perpetual adolescence that the only way to earn votes is to lower the bar accordingly.

The only thing I…

It is said that Abraham Lincoln, during the days of the Civil War, was once told that he should take heart because God was on the Union’s side. Lincoln’s response was that he was more concerned with whether or not the Union was on God’s side. The difference is important. In the former God blesses the work of our hands, in the latter we work for that which God will bless… but I digress.

Over the…

The Day After: What Yesterday’s Election Really Means & How the American Church Should Respond

Yesterday’s 2014 midterm elections were predicted to be many things.  There were the Progressives who saw it as a catastrophic step backwards.  Then there were the Conservatives who called it a referendum on Obama’s policies.

Yet despite their stellar reporting (note IRONY here) the mainstream media has failed to actually communicate the results of this election in much the same way that they…

Faith, Reason & Progress: A Response to Neil Degrasse Tyson

Recently I stumbled over the very winsome and articulate Neil Degrasse Tyson.  He is a fantastic communicator; disarmingly casual, witty and entertaining.  He seems intelligent, yet without an air of condescension; clever and still humble enough to recognize that he doesn’t have all the answers.  And yet, for some reason he made the assertion in the video below, that it is religion which has…

Why Phil Robertson is Both Right & Wrong About ISIS

In a recent appearance on Sean Hannity the Duck Dynasty patriarch said that if he was in charge of the situation with ISIS his strategy would be to convert them or to kill them.   Naturally this has stirred up some controversy.  However, those who embrace or reject what was said out of hand – whether out of a love of the Christian Celebrity ot hatred of him – are oversimplifying the situation…

Mark Driscoll’s Fall From Grace: A Warning For All Pastors

When I first learned of Mark Driscoll he was well on his way to superstar status.

He was notoriously earthy and abrasive [which I liked] and equally ignorant about the bible and under-trained for ministry [which frustrated me to no end].  But there was another quality that struck me and that was his desire to serve God completely,…

Vicky Beeching, Homosexuality & The Future Of Christianity

Vicky Beeching, one of Evangelical Christianity’s beloved worship leaders and songwriters, recently announced to the world that she is “gay” and that it is okay because God loves her just the way she is.

She is not the first to embrace this line of thinking and she is not likely to be the last.  So even though I have already written on the subject of Homosexuality and the Bible (Read that essay…

What The Gungor Controversy Tells Us About The American Church

In case you are one of the few people who is even less aware of what is happening inside the glass walls of the American Church than I am, there is a major controversy currently over comments made by the worship band and Dove award winner Gungor (Here is an excellent article from the Christian Post for summary).  First there was the Ken Ham article wherein he challenged the scientific nature of…

Maintaining National Borders – What Would Jesus Do?

Making Americans Sick to Achieve a Political Majority.

While the title of the article above by Mr. James Simpson struck me as a little over the top (I am not nor do I desire to be a political commentator in this sense), this is the most informative work on the US Border Crisis that I have read yet.  This issue, while much politicized, transcends politics.  It is fundamentally about human dignity.

What Clifford The Big Red Dog Can Teach Us About Grace

I have been a father for quite some time now and as such I have had the chance to watch many hours of children’s programing.  To date one of my favorites remains the old PBS cartoon Clifford the Big Red Dog.  I think what I love most about the story, is captured beautifully by the theme song which played at the beginning of every episode: “Clifford needed Emily, so she chose him for her own; And…

Finding Freedom… Prologue

Prologue When Atlas Shrugs

“There is a Way that seems right to Man,

But the end there of is Death.”

~Proverbs 14:12~

In the early 20th century English poet William Ernest Hensley wrote the now infamous poem Invictus.  In the poem the narrator describes their inner strength and resolve to face and overcome all obstacles.  Looking both death and God in the face the narrator declares the…

Love Your Enemy: Reflections On The Orthopraxis Of Mercy & Grace

M​y daughter and I were talking the other day about the biblical exhortation to do good to those who hurt you​ (Luke 6:27-36).  It is a difficult thing for us to wrap our heads around but the scripture is clear.  Even ​​psychology bears witness to the reality that the unkindness which stems from unforgiveness is a cancer in the soul, consuming and destroying everything in its wake.

Thus the…

America Has Bigger Problems Than Barack Obama

I am really quite sick of hearing people on the Right offer only one rallying cry for America. It seems that the villany of President Barack Hussein Obama or Barry Soetoro as he was once called, is the height of the Conservative’s argument about what is wrong with America and that reversing everything he has done is the only way to fix it.   Now don’t get me wrong, I am not pleased with the…