Recent Viewpoints

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 ….

When the president raised the minimum wage for federal workers, lots of editorials appeared in newspapers. Jason Riley dug out an old editorial to illustrate how perceptions have changed in the media elite. Back in 1987 the New York Times editorial read: “The idea of using a minimum wage to overcome poverty is old, honorable—and fundamentally flawed. It’s time to put this hoary debate behind us, and find a better way to improve the lives of people who work very…

When a bill has the word non-discrimination as part of its title, it’s wise to dig deeper. A measure that requires non-discrimination against one group usually ends up allowing, even encouraging, discrimination against another. Proponents of the District of Columbia’s Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act — RHNDA — said it is needed to prevent employees in Washington D.C. from being discriminated against based upon their decisions regarding reproductive health. The bill requires that the pro-life organizations and schools run by faith-based…

Scott Sauls was on my radio program recently to discuss his book, Jesus Outside the Lines. In his book, he tells a story of what happened in his church (Christ Presbyterian Church) when R.C. Sproul gave a talk on how God and people come into a relationship with one another. Dr. Sproul emphasizes the sovereign, electing grace of God. Other Christians, like Billy Graham emphasize human free will. During the question-and-answer session after Dr. Sproul’s talk, someone in the audience…

When high school and college students read the section on civil disobedience in the book, Christian Ethics in Plain Language, they usually think about it hypothetically. How should Christians respond if government commanded them to do something that violates the Bible? American Christians have rarely had to consider this difficult ethical question, until now. Prominent Christian leaders warn that such a question may be just around the corner. These Christian leaders have signed a document with the title Pledge in…

A new book by Johnnie Moore reminds us why we should be concerned about the possibility that agents of ISIS will strike America. The title of his book explains his concern: Defying ISIS: Preserving Christianity in the Place of Its Birth and in Your Own Backyard. He not only documents the unspeakable terror at the hands of ISIS, but also explains how ISIS uses the Internet to recruit and train potential terrorists that don’t even have to leave their home…

Yesterday I talked about how legalizing same sex marriage could affect churches and Christian organizations. A Supreme Court ruling in favor of so-called “gay marriage” would have a negative impact on the religious liberty of these organizations and on Christians in general. It would also redefine marriage. Justice Samuel Alito asked the lead counsel in the case whether granting two people of the same sex the right to marry would lead to other marital arrangements. Here is how he put…

Should churches and Christian organizations be concerned if the Supreme Court legalizes same sex marriage? You can answer that question with the phrase: It is going to be an issue. Those are the words of the Solicitor General Donald Verrili. During the oral arguments on the same sex marriage case, the question of how this would affect religious institutions was raised numerous times. At one point, the lead counsel in the case tried to assure the justices that declaring a…

A recent edition of the Washington Times reports, “The Marine Corps’ historic experiment to allow women to take part in its Infantry Officer Course ended with zero graduates.” The Marines’ experiment began about two years ago. Twenty-nine women volunteered. Only four survived the course beyond the first day. The last two washed out on April 2nd of this year. The Marine Corps and the Army have been conducting extensive research and experiments to test the prospects for women to serve…

In many of his books, Dr. Tim Elmore argues that this emerging generation is different in many ways from previous generations due to a range of factors. He was on my radio program recently to talk about his book Artificial Maturity and explained why this generation is different. Education is one reason. As students have been pressed into age-graded groups, they now interact mostly with peers. “The church followed suit with its programming. Social silos were the result. The downward…

The American family is in decline. But sometimes it is hard to see how far we have come because the changes are often subtle and incremental. Each generation comes into the world already taking as a baseline changes that occurred before they arrived. Perhaps the best way to document the decline of the family is to compare where we are today to where we were in 1960. Back then more than nine out of ten U.S. households with children had…