Recent Viewpoints

Words mean something, especially in a landmark court case dealing with the legalization of same sex marriage. Justice Anthony Kennedy writing for the majority of the Supreme Court acknowledged that: “religions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same sex marriage should not be condoned.” In his opinion, he pointed to the First Amendment that “ensures that religious organizations and persons” be “given proper protection as they seek…

Last Friday morning the Supreme Court announced its decision. It found a sweeping “right” to same-sex marriage nationwide, in every state, even those whose laws specify otherwise. The White House reflected the celebratory atmosphere the gay community carried out all day. Friday evening, the rainbow colors, emblematic of the mainstreaming of the homosexual lifestyle, were projected onto its north face. When you get a bad decision from the Supreme Court, it’s worth reading the dissenting opinion. In this case, each…

The Supreme Court decision last week on Obamacare raised legitimate concerns about the role of the court in its interpretation of congressional legislation. Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority seemed unconcerned about the fact that he was legislating from the bench. The next day in the same sex marriage case, in his dissent he argued that “judges have power to say what the law is, not what it should be.” One guest on my radio program suggested that…

The Supreme Court marriage decision announced last Friday has brought rejoicing from homosexuals as well as concern from most Christians and traditionalists. The 5-4 decision could have easily been a 4-3 decision if two of the Justices who should have recused themselves had done so. And though we have heard quite a bit from the majority decision written by Justice Kennedy and the other justices, it is worth hearing from four justices that wrote their dissent. Perhaps the only comments…

We are told that there is a scientific consensus on the cause of climate change. Pope Francis published his new encyclical on the subject and also talks about a scientific consensus. What should the average layperson believe? Jay Richards has written a helpful piece with the title, “When to Doubt a Scientific Consensus.” He reminds us from the history of science “that scientists are not immune to the non-rational dynamics of the herd.” So when do we accept what scientists…

The story earlier this month was that the Treasury Department was planning to take Alexander Hamilton off the $10 bill. An unnamed woman would replace him on the money. The most recent announcement is that his image won’t disappear completely but remain in a secondary way. The announcement from the Treasury Department created a small stir. It would have been a huge controversy if it weren’t for the ignorance of most Americans of the contribution of Alexander Hamilton. He fought…

This morning the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 ruling for the marriage case. Through this ruling, five unelected justices have attempted to force their view of marriage on the entire nation. In this act they have nullified the votes of 50 million of our citizens who sought to protect the sanctity of marriage. The four dissenting Justices each filed their own opinion. “This court is not a legislature. Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern…

The Wall Street Journal reports on the fact that the five largest commercial health insurers in the U.S. are pursuing various combinations of mergers and/or purchases of one another. In an editorial, The Journal expresses concern about the possibility of “all five fusing into one monster conglomerate.” They call this an oligopoly. The Journal, explains the phenomenon, saying “the economics of ObamaCare reward scale over competition.” Standardized benefits and premiums have compressed profit margins for insurance companies. There are few…

If you have been to a movie recently, you probably were watching a remake or a sequel like Jurassic World or Mad Max. We are in the midst of nearly 30 movies that could be described as remakes or sequels. There are more to come. And don’t forget the franchise operations like James Bond, Mission: Impossible, X-Men, and Hunger Games. Charlie Jane Anders asks, “Why does Hollywood keep rebooting the same movie properties over and over again? It’s not just…

The latest story about scientific fraud illustrates how political and cultural bias can influence even reputable scientific journals. The complete story can be found in the Wall Street Journal under the title “Scientific Fraud and Politics.” The case in point is the paper by graduate student Michael LaCour that was published and then retracted by the journal Science. The journal published his stunning findings because LaCour found that a 20-minute conversation with a house-to-house canvasser could convert huge numbers of…

With all that is happening in our world, it is easy to be discouraged. Warren Cole Smith and John Stonestreet wrote their book, Restoring All Things, to encourage you and show how God and His people are engaged in fulfilling His promise to restore all things. Restoring is just one of the “re” words that John Stonestreet talks about. There are other words like redemption, reconciliation, and resurrection along with renew, repent, and restore. When he was on my radio…