Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson Today is Election Day, and two important questions should be resolved very soon. The first question is: Who will win the election? Unless there is some glitch in election reporting, we should know that in a few hours. The second question is: How peaceful will be our transition of power? In the past we have had a few bumps in the road. Back in 1960, there was some question about whether John F. Kennedy won the presidency fairly….

Kerby Anderson Tomorrow is the election. You may have already voted, like tens of millions of Americans. But if you haven’t voted, I encourage you to vote because your vote might make the difference. In the past, many groups circulated articles and e-mails talking about the importance of one vote. In the last few elections, we haven’t needed these reminders because the some of the elections in the last few decades provide numerous illustrations. For example, George W. Bush won…

Penna Dexter Throughout our nation’s history, citizens have been able, for the most part, to count on the government having our back as Christians. Recently though, we’re seeing a rise in blatant discrimination by government officials against Christians for expressing their faith. Shockingly, it’s even extending to pastors. In 2014, Anise Parker, the mayor of Houston, Texas, subpoenaed the sermons of five pastors who opposed the city’s transgender bathroom ordinance. There was a national outcry and her effort was shut…

Kerby Anderson In a recent essay, Ravi Zacharias devoted a few paragraphs to the importance of moral reasoning and an ethical foundation. He reminded us of the insight that can be found in the book, The Roads to Modernity. Gertrude Himmelfarb makes a very powerful statement in the book. She argues that the difference between the European Enlightenment and the English and American Enlightenment was really one word. For the French philosophers, reasoning was supreme. For the English and American…

Kerby Anderson Yesterday I talked about the number of narrow (5-4) Supreme Court cases. Many have been using them to illustrate how important the presidential election will be to the future of America. Today, let’s look at a First Amendment case, a Second Amendment case, and a case involving restrictions on abortion. The first case involved a question about the legality of Mojave Memorial Cross. This cross was placed on Sunrise Rock in the Mojave Desert and was put up…

Kerby Anderson During this campaign season, many have been talking about the narrow (5-4) Supreme Court cases to illustrate how important the presidential election will be to the future of America. Let’s first look at some of the key First Amendment cases. The Hobby Lobby case was decided by the high court in 2014. The Department of Health and Human Services under the Affordable Care Act required employers to cover certain contraceptives (including abortifacients) for their female employees. The Supreme…

Kerby Anderson During the election of 1994, leaders in the Republican Party put together something they called the Contract with America. It was written by Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey and included many policy ideas developed at the Heritage Foundation. It included a list of eight reforms the Republicans promised to enact, and ten bills they promised to introduce and vote on if they were made the majority following the election. They were successful. Republicans won 54 House seats and…

Once the elections are over momentous decisions will need to be made regarding our health care system.  The prevailing law is the Affordable Care Act, which has got to either be fixed, or repealed and replaced. Any fix would eventually take us to a single-payer, national system. Phil Gramm was a 3-term United States senator from Texas. He served 14 years on the Senate Budget Committee and chaired the Senate Banking Committee. His recent opinion piece in the Wall Street…

Kerby Anderson In a thought-provoking new e-book, Christian Overman addresses the important issue of The Lost Purpose for Learning. He begin with a 19th century quote from Princeton theologian A.A. Hodge: “It is self-evident that on this scheme, if it is consistently and persistently carried out in all parts of the country, the United States system of natural popular education will be the most efficient and wide instrument for the propagation of Atheism which the world has ever seen.” This…

Kerby Anderson More and more Americans believe in pluralism and many believe in universalism. First, let me define the terms. Universalism would be the belief that everyone will be saved after death and go to heaven. Pluralism is the belief that all faith positions and belief systems are equally true or essentially true. According to a Barna survey, Americans are still not embracing universalism. A majority of Americans still believe in exclusive views rather than inclusive views concerning heaven. Those…

Kerby Anderson Often during these political campaigns, candidates talk about the cost of government regulations. It is hard to get a good estimate, but one report from the Heritage Foundation, provides an estimate of the costs. It seems that while politicians are reaching into your pocket to tax you, they are using the other hand to impose heavy costs through regulation. You may think that you are exempt from federal regulations, unless you run a corporation or own a business….