A Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Without hesitation, Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Recent Viewpoints
Kerby Anderson The election is over, and it is time to bring the country together. But is that possible? Every four years we see a map of red and blue states showing the vote for president. But there is growing evidence that we aren’t just a divided country. We are essentially two countries within the same border. Bill Bishop made this case many years ago in his book, The Big Sort. Americans have sorted themselves into various enclaves that are…
Kerby Anderson Will pastors be required to turn in their sermon notes to government officials? That question probably sounds odd unless you have been paying attention to what has been happening right here in America. Two years ago, the mayor of Houston, Texas subpoenaed the sermons of five pastors who opposed the city’s transgender bathroom ordinance. After some controversy, the mayor and the city backed down. Now the Attorney General of Georgia requested the “sermon notes and/or transcripts” from Dr….
Kerby Anderson One of the issues that the next president and the next Congress must address is health care and insurance. Most Americans are facing sticker shock as many of them discover that their premiums have increased and their coverage has decreased. A few weeks ago we saw headlines reporting that ObamaCare premiums will soar 25 percent on average next year. Actually, it was worse than the headlines might indicate. The rate spike was for the cheaper “silver” plans. Moreover,…
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…