Recent Viewpoints

Penna Dexter On November 7th a United Nations conference on climate change convened in Marrakesh, Morocco. It’s been the plan for years that this meeting would take place just three days after the Paris Climate Treaty went into force, thus hastening its implementation. Ninety-seven countries, accounting for approximately two thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions, have now ratified the treaty. The U.S. is not one of them. The treaty would require that the U.S. reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 26…

Kerby Anderson If you think about it, your life is the culmination of lots and lots of decisions. Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup, argues that people make 10,000 to 20,000 small decisions every day. If you multiply this by the U.S. population you end up with one quadrillion decisions. This is one of the points Jeff Myers makes in his book, Understanding the Culture. The legacy you leave is the sum of all of these decisions. Many are inconsequential. Others…

Kerby Anderson Professor George Yancey has some advice for progressives who have been attacking Christians and those who voted for Donald Trump. Now you need to understand that Professor Yancey does not like Donald Trump. Months ago, he came out as a NeverTrumper. He tells progressives that if they don’t want a Trump win in 2020, they need to stop attacking religious freedom. He explains how Christians “feared a loss of religious freedom” in a Clinton administration. He tried to…

Kerby Anderson Although few Americans hear much from various international climate change conferences, many more are likely to see documentaries warning about climate change. The latest is the Leonardo DiCaprio documentary, “Before the Flood.” He is, after all, perhaps the most visible face these days pushing for action on man-made global warming. Nicholas Loris appears briefly in the film, and decided to provide some perspective after seeing how the current science and political debate were portrayed in the film. One…

Kerby Anderson President Obama and his administration just set a new record. They have put more regulations into the Federal Register this year and shattered their old record for regulations they set in 2010. It is also worth mentioning that there are still nearly two months left in the president’s term. He will no doubt be trying to build on this legacy before he leaves office in January. To put some of this in perspective, the Competitive Enterprise Institute found…

Kerby Anderson Protests in America have a noble history. They serve to identify a social problem and awaken politicians and the general public to important issues and causes. Think of the civil rights protests led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, many of the protests today are counterproductive. They result in angry protesters crowding into the streets and end with lots of property damage. Think of the protests by leftists and anarchists against the WTO that ended in violent…

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34) When the uncertainties of life would steal our peace and create turmoil within, our anchor is the knowledge that God is good and His love for us will never change. Paul told Timothy that even when “we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). In the words of the old hymn: Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, There…

Penna Dexter We’re officially in the holiday season. Christmas decorations are popping up, especially in the places where we shop. Lots of families, pressed for time, are already getting a jump on Christmas decorating. Not mine. I savor Thanksgiving. In my home the pumpkins and gourds, the oranges and golds dominate until Thanksgiving day is done. On that first Thanksgiving, at Plymouth, the first permanent settlement in New England, the Pilgrims celebrated their very survival. Of 103 Pilgrims who arrived…

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Paul admonished the church in Thessalonica to “rejoice always” and to “pray without ceasing.” He immediately followed up with the instruction to “give thanks in all circumstances.” Prayer should be a continual part of the Christian’s life that flows like breath from our lungs or blood through our veins. We may not be consciously aware of our connection with Him…

“But we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will give thanks to You forever; from generation to generation we will recount Your praise” (Psalm 79:13) It can be easy to praise God and give Him thanks in the good times. It is just as important, perhaps more so, to give Him praise during the difficult times. Invariably, today we will be reminded of the Pilgrims and that first Thanksgiving. They had endured a terrible winter and suffered tremendous loss….

“We give thanks to God not because of how we feel, but because of Who He is.” – Ann Voskamp Most of us have experienced a time when God seemed far away from us. We can identify with David as he writes “O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; by night, but I have no rest” (Psalm 22:2). In those times, we give thanks to Him by faith, knowing that He is always near (Psalm…