News and Commentary
Every political season I am confronted with well-intentioned friends who believe that voting for the Libertarian Party (or some other third party) is the high-minded, principled choice. They imagine that if only their preferred party could win, everything would change for the better. In the process, they ignore both the history of third parties and the practical reality of political […]
Read more
All celebrities go to heaven. If you don’t believe that then just ask their fan bases and they will confirm it. When a celebrity passes, you will hear people laud their music, performances, generosity, and other positive qualities. It seems that people who brought us joy in life are automatically qualified for the afterlife. We seem to want to extend […]
Read more
One of Jesus’ most misused statements is “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” For the forty-fifth-umpteenth-hundredth time I had some well-meaning believer try to apply that to international political policy. “We shouldn’t fight Iran. We should just love them.” I heard this same nonsense during the Iraq wars. “Jesus said to love your enemies not fight […]
Read more
Recently a fellow minister asked me if I ever had success arguing with people on line. To his surprise, I said that I had indeed had success. This surprised him because he said that he had never had any success with social media debates. My friend may not be as unsuccessful as he thinks. He simply may not yet know […]
Read more
Some very poor arguments are proffered in support of women holding the position of church pastor. In my previous article called Women and Authority in the Church, I addressed some of the arguments regarding notable women in the Bible being viewed as models that give support for women pastoring church congregations. The basic argument is To assert that women can […]
Read more
Note: In 2015 I had a friend serving as one of the three decision-making editors of the Christian Standard. I opined that the hot topic of homosexual acceptance in the church was not being addressed. He said that if I would submit an article then he would support its publication. This is the article that I submitted and it was […]
Read more
I usually like Bob Russell’s articles but his latest article about President Trump potentially thinking that he is Jesus needs some attention. In this case, Pastor Russell is not incorrect that pride is a problem for people who rise to leadership. Russell’s numerous citations of Scripture passages affirm this. But he goes on to assume that President Trump has committed […]
Read more
The question of women leading in church has come to the public’s attention because of Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde’s remarks in a sermon before President Trump and Vice President Vance. Women holding positions as pastors is common among theologically liberal denominations such as the Presbyterian Church USA, Anglicans, United Methodists, Disciples of Christ, and other less organized Protestant groups. The […]
Read more
In my previous article, Of Teleprompters and Song Lyrics, I began to discuss how technology assists singers and bands. For some people this is an uncomfortable topic on par with describing how sausage is made. It is hard to accept the fact that professionals use these assists on songs that move us deeply. All we experience is the beauty of […]
Read more
Over the last week I’ve been amused and a little frustrated to read the reactions to Motley Crue’s singer, Vince Niel, using a teleprompter on stage for his song lyrics. He has drawn some criticism for it from a few other singers but he has also been defended for it by more performers. Why would a performer use a teleprompter? […]
Read more