Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson This is Christmas week, and so I thought we might reflect on the hymn, “O Holy Night” by John Dwight. “O holy night! The stars are brightly shining. It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” Jesus came into the world to save us and so we feel valuable and our soul feels its worth. Perhaps the most quoted…

Kerby Anderson During this Christmas, we have been providing a theological perspective on some of the classic Christmas carols. But today, I thought we might look at a contemporary song associated with the Christmas story. “Mary, Did You Know?” is a Christmas song addressing Mary, mother of Jesus. The lyrics were written by Mark Lowry in 1984. The music was written by Buddy Greene in 1991. It was originally recorded by Michael English on his 1991 solo album. The song…

Kerby Anderson During the Christmas week, I like to revisit some of the Christmas carols we sing at this time of year. In this case, I not only want to talk about one of those songs, but also point you to a film that gives you the back story. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was known as America’s poet, and is known for the song, “I Heard the Bells.” His story is faithfully told by the ministry, Sight & Sound, which is…

Penna Dexter According to Fortune magazine, Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley “thinks America needs a wake-up call.” Mr. Farley told Monica Langley, host of Office Hours: Business Edition podcast, his company has 5000 open jobs for mechanics. He said these jobs pay six-figure salaries. It’s not just Ford that’s having trouble finding people to fill manual labor positions. Mr. Farley said, “We are in trouble in our country…We have over a million openings in critical jobs, emergency services, trucking,…

Kerby Anderson It is estimated that Charles Wesley wrote over 6500 hymns. Perhaps his best-known hymn is “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.” Over the years it has been edited slightly, but the meaning and theology remain as he wrote it more than two centuries ago. It begins with a proclamation of the birth of Jesus: “Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.” The hymn reminds us why…

Kerby Anderson The electoral buzzword these days is “affordability.” As I have mentioned in previous commentaries, politicians need to take seriously the concerns of average Americans who are having a difficult time economically. But the other side to affordability is affluence. In a recent commentary, Kelsey Piper reminds us that “Medieval kings would envy you.” We live in a world of affluence that people in other centuries could not even imagine. She walks you through her house and counts 27…

Kerby Anderson Glenn Beck has been writing about a coming reset in his books, The Great Reset and Dark Future. Now he has been talking about an economic reset that will trigger a cultural and political reset. He explains that every debt-based system will end in one of three ways. The country will inflate the money so they can pay off the debt. That is what the German Weimar Republic did. That is what Rome did. The second is a…

Kerby Anderson A few weeks ago, I talked about the looming danger in our cities that justifies deploying troops. I quoted from a commentary by Edward Ring that went into detail about the potential threat from foreign crime organizations. The editors of The Spectator are much less likely to support the actions of the Trump administration but have also added their concern in an editorial. “The second Trump administration tends to characterize those who have illegally crossed the southern U.S….

Kerby Anderson President Trump announced his desire to pause migration from Afghanistan until he is satisfied that migrants from that country and other unstable countries have been thoroughly investigated. His comment came after the shooting of two National Guard members. But this is not just a knee-jerk reaction. There are some concerning issues. President Biden declared that American withdrawal from Afghanistan should be completed by September 11, 2021, which would have been the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attack. One…

Penna Dexter The U.S Department of Health and Human Services has issued its final version of a review of evidence pertaining to transgender “medical” interventions for minors. This 410-page report serves to update and fine-tune a review published in May. The May report, ordered by President Trump, describes significant harms to children from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical transitions. Risks include sterility, decreased bone density, and altered brain function. The May report was immediately hit with criticism from LGBT…

Kerby Anderson Michael Green created quite a stir when he proclaimed that the true poverty line in America is at least six figures. While I appreciate his attempt to remind us that it takes much more money to have a middle-class lifestyle, I knew that his economic assumptions were off. But he deserves credit for reminding us that our devalued dollars don’t go as far as they did six decades ago. Tyler Cowen challenges “The Myth of the $140,000 Poverty…