Recent Viewpoints

Christians depend on their pastors for spiritual guidance. But if they are looking for guidance in how to think about cultural and political issues, most of them will be disappointed. That is what George Barna has found in his latest surveys. Through the American Culture and Faith Institute, he has focused on what pastors believe and what they have been teaching. When it comes to cultural, social, and political issues there is often a significant disconnect. He found that an…

Political polls are becoming less and less reliable. The closely-watched recent gubernatorial election in Kentucky provides the latest example. Incumbent Governor Jack Conway was leading Republican Matt Bevin 44% to 41% on October 30 in the average of polls compiled by Real Clear Politics. But 4 days later, on November 3rd, Bevin won 53% to 44%. Michael Barone is senior Political Analyst for the Washington Examiner. He says that lately, pre-election polls are vastly understating support for right-of-center candidates. And…

No doubt you have heard the phrase, “the barbarians are at the gate.” It described what happened when the barbarian hordes descended on Rome. Mark Steyn employs a powerful turn of phrase with the title of his recent column: The Barbarians Are Inside, And There Are No Gates. He was writing about the jihadist attack on Paris, but he could just as easily have been writing about any country in Europe or even in North America. It is easy to…

Media bias comes in many forms. Bias shows up when we see how a story is covered selectively. Certain voices and perspectives are given prominence. Others are not. But a more common form of media bias occurs when media outlets simply ignore a story that does not fit their narrative. Robert Knight has seen this in operation when he worked at the Los Angeles Times and when he has worked with various conservative organizations. He writes about how the media…

During the televised debates and during the campaign stops, we are hearing candidates talk about the problem that various groups are “not paying their fair share.” Democratic candidates lament that: “the wealthy pay too little” in taxes. Other candidates point to loopholes in the tax code that allow individuals and even corporations to pay little or nothing in taxes. When you hear a candidate say that, you should ask for him or her to be more specific. It is a…

Is the traditional family dead in America? No. Supreme Court justices and other federal judges can try to redefine marriage, but that can’t change the reality of the natural family. That was certainly the conclusion from the World Congress of Families held recently in Salt Lake City. Robert Knight was on my program recently to talk about his Washington Times column on the family conference. First, it is important to remind everyone that God is not dead. In fact, the…

Two daycare workers at the Children’s Lighthouse Learning Center in Katy, Texas were fired recently for refusing to treat a six-year-old girl as a boy. One of the fired workers said that sometimes the little girl refers to herself as a boy and other times she tells classmates not to call her a boy and not to use her masculine name. But her parents, two males, have given her a boy’s haircut and insist she be treated accordingly. Breitbart Texas…

Over the last few months, Christians are beginning to wonder if they can work as florists, bakers,or photographers. Sooner or later a homosexual couple will ask them to perform their services for a gay wedding. We know what happens next. Now even Christians who print t-shirts may wonder if they will be confronted. Blaine Adamson is the owner of a screen-printing company. He and his company (Hands On Originals) faced discrimination charges because he turned down a homosexual who wanted…

When you increase the minimum wage, two things happen. Some people lose their jobs while those who keep their jobs see an increase in their paycheck. Unfortunately, politicians focus on the second effect and often ignore the first. I thought of this when I saw the latest AEI report from Seattle. It said that the $15 minimum wage increase “is getting off to a pretty bad start.” Leah Jessen, writing for the Daily Signal, wonders whether the loss of 700…

Universities talk a great deal about free speech, but they have been clamping down on speech they don’t like for many years. When I first started speaking on college campuses in the mid-1970s, I was impressed that professors would invite a Christian speaker into their classroom. Sometimes they would even say to the class: “You have heard my views on this subject. In the interest of academic freedom, I wanted to give you a chance to hear a Christian’s views…

Is it possible America’s most important Founding Father was born in France in 1509? From the time of the Apostles and – for more than 1500 years after virtually all political theorizing was produced by Christians, and with Biblical foundations. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo – in the late-fourth and early-fifth centuries taught that civil government was not part of the original creation – it was made necessary by the fall and to be significantly limited in scope. In the 12th…