Recent Viewpoints

We live in different worlds and different cultures. To make that point David Brooks tells the story of two quarterbacks that played against each other in Super Bowl III. Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath were both superstars who came from Western Pennsylvania to the NFL. But that were different in nearly every other way. Brooks says, “Unitas was reticent, workmanlike and deliberately unglamorous. Namath was flashy and a playboy.” In fact, Joe Namath turned himself into a brand long before…

Politicians are currently answering questions like: “Knowing what we know now, would you have supported invading Iraq in 2003?” Hindsight will not alter that decision or the devastating 2011 decision to leave before we secured the gains made. Now Iraq is in chaos. The recent ISIS takeover of Ramadi the provincial capital of Anbar province is particularly heartbreaking because this is where, in 2007 a surge of U.S. forces waged a block-by-block battle to reclaim the city from insurgents. It’s…

We all have too much stuff. I can relate to this since I just moved and had to box everything up and move to a new house. Each year we give away lots of things, but I am still amazed at how many boxes I had to move. That may be why the article by Joshua Becker caught my eye. He lists the 21 Surprising Statistics That Reveal How Much Stuff We Actually Own. Here are just a few of…

When you see a particular poll mentioned in the media, it is always good to take that poll with a grain of salt. All sorts of bias can result from the way the question was asked to the way in which the poll was conducted. A new study provides another reason to question some of the percentages that are collected in nationwide polls. It also helps explain why many polls do not match the final results in various elections. Pew…

Constitutional attorney John Whitehead expressed his concern about government intervention and the militarization of the police in his previous book, A Government of Wolves. He continues his investigation and expands his focus in his new book, Battlefield America. In some ways, he believes we have come full circle. In the 18th century, the colonists were held captive by the British. Now in the 21st century, we are being held captive to the American police state. It is time, past time…

The church in general, and evangelical Christians in particular, has been helping people in poverty. But you wouldn’t know that if you attended a roundtable discussion of poverty at Georgetown University. President Obama made lots of critical comments, but I wanted to focus on just one of his statements. The president was critical of churches focusing so much time on social issues and so little time on poverty. He wanted “faith-based organizations to speak out on” the issue of poverty…

Most of the presidential candidates and hopefuls have figured out by now that they need to have an answer to the question:  ‘What will you do if the U.S. Supreme Court comes down with a ruling in which it discovers a constitutional right to same-sex marriage?’ The very worst scenario coming from the Court would be a decision that, not only strikes down state laws that define marriage as it’s always been, but also fails to contain protections for the…

Americans are overwhelmingly pessimistic about their chances of achieving and sustaining the American dream. That is the only conclusion you could draw from a recent Marist-McClatchy Poll. Americans “see an economic system in which they have to work harder than ever to get ahead, and a political system that’s unresponsive to their needs.” Americans also feel that the wealthy play by a different set of rules from everyone else. That actually connects the two conclusions together. Recently I heard that…

Jim Denison recently found a “15-step strategy for converting Christians to atheism” and wrote about it in the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture. Although the article is supposed to help atheists convert Christians, I think that Christians can learn some valuable lessons about how to approach and dialogue with non-Christians. The article tells atheists to think about building relationships before trying to convert them to atheism. That is certainly good advice for Christians. Jim Denison reminds us that we…

On my radio program the other day, my guest made the point that you could fit the entire population of the world into Los Angeles. Since some people questioned that statistic, I thought I would provide some documentation. Actually, the National Geographic website has already done the math. They have a quiz with the question: “Population 7 Billion—Could We All Fit in One City?” The quick answer is yes. “If all seven billion people on Earth stood shoulder-to-shoulder, we would…

Welcome to utopia. Speaking a few years ago at a technology convention in San Francisco, Google CEO Eric Schmidt described this new world of utopia. “It’s a future where you don’t forget anything . . .. In this new future you’re never lost . . .. We will know your position down to the foot and down to the inch over time . . .. Your car will drive itself, it’s a bug that cars were invented before computers ….